National Psychical Academy
by Ash-X7
Summary: Welcome to National Psychical Academy, a secret and undisclosed school in our modern technological world, whereby people with supernatural power studied in. Strictly pairing Seiya-Usagi, Taiki-Usagi, Yaten-Minako.
1. The Beginning of a Strange Dream

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Disclaimer: Usual things, I do not own SM characters. However, I do own this story and plot. The fics you are about to read has no linkage with the actual SM series. Characters are given credits accordingly and those without credits belong to me.

Do read my other fanfic, _**The Love Legend**_, a story with S/U pairing…

Same goes for this, so if you are **NOT** a Sei-Usa supporter. **Don't read it!**

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**National Psychical Academy**

Summary: Welcome to National Psychical Academy, a secret and undisclosed school in our modern technological world, whereby people with supernatural power or what we called Psychics studied in.

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**The Beginning of a Strange Dream**

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"_Hur… Hur…"_

He could hear his own perspired breathing as he ran as fast as his two heavy legs could carry him towards the black iron-like door. His instinct told him that it was the only escape route. From both corners of his eyes, he could see the atmosphere around him was shading in an alarming rate. No! It was getting colder! He got to make it to the door before everything gets trap into the darkness! Including him!

The exit was only a few feet away…

He reached out his hand to the metal handle…

Then everything went white.

"This is… Why am I in school?"

He noticed that he was dressed in his usual uniform, the dull brown school coat and tanned long pants, as he stood stiffly in the middle of the dead silent hallway. He took a step forward and peeked through the rectangular glassed-up door's pane. To his astonishment, a class was currently being held inside. Haruna-sensei was writing some Japanese characters onto the chalkboard and in front of her stood four human figures. Though their faces were hidden behind a dark cast of shadow, he could tell they were students. But they were not students from his school, since they were dressed differently.

"_Who are they?"_

He slipped his hand into the door handle with an attempt to open it, but something else had caught his attention. He made a quick turn towards the strange presence that was behind him. Then, he saw a recognizable person gradually walking passed him.

"He's one of the missing students, Hitomi Kagiyu."

In the next blink of an eye, the boy disappeared into the corner. Though he was never in a good-term with Hitomi, something in him triggered his body to follow.

He picked up his speed and ran after Hitomi, into the corner, up the stairs and through the door.

It was the school roof.

Strong wind blew passed him as he stared in shock at the boy who stood motionlessly at the edge of the roof barrier.

"_He's… He's about to jump…"_

He tried shouting out to him, but no voice was heard.

Hitomi took a step forward…

"NOOOOOOO!!"

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"LINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!"

Haruka woke up alarmingly, covered in sweat. His eyes wandered around impulsively only to realized that he was currently in his own room.

"_What was __that all about?"_

He restlessly off his morning alarm and got out of bed.

It was a new semester and he wasn't at all happy about it. He's the type of guy who was born with both the looks and the brain. His amazing academic results had achieved him a place in one of Tokyo's top rated high school, Megeru High. It's a prestigious high school whereby all famous, rich and _spoilt_ kids studied in. Yes! It was indeed a dream school for all those poor kids like him, but Haruka wasn't too keen about it. Despite his good looks and grades, he has no friend in school. His classmates feared him after they witnessed his violence against some school bullies. These had him noted into the police record and his step-parents were outraged about it.

Day after day, he would walk pass the same blocks, take the same train and see the same faces before arriving to school. Finally, he would step into a class full of normal people who only have money to be proud of.

He had enough of this boring life!

It's the _same_ every single day!

Somehow, Harkua had already predicted his future. Three years from now, he's going to graduate from this _simple_ school, enter Tokyo University whereby he will get a _standard_ degree, and follows his step-parents words on becoming a doctor _or_ a lawyer.

"This world is so boring…" Haruka mumbled out displeasingly and exited his room.

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* * *

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"This school doesn't look that bad…" a teenage who had long, black hair tied back into a low ponytail commented as he gazed up at the school buildings.

"It will look bad if you were to compare it with ours…" another teen with his fine, long silvery hair tied back into a simple ponytail responded.

"One thing for certain, no school in this world can be beat our academy." The last young man with his auburn long hair which was also tied back added.

"But-but, I heard that Megeru High is an outstanding school. Everyone inside must have really good grades. Common school like this, they require us to do mathematics and science right? Oh! I am so going to fail…" the only girl within the group of four cried out.

"Don't worry, Odango… I will protect you." The black-haired teen patted her on the head.

"Yeah! Seiya! You are the best!" the girl cheered happily.

"Hey… Hey… Who is the genius in this group? Don't worry, Usagi. I will not allow anyone to give you a difficult time." The tall auburn-haired teen told her smilingly.

"Yeah! Taiki! You are the greatest!" the blonde girl continued another cheer.

"Everyone, can I have your attention here?" the silver-haired teen clapped his hand. "Remember that we are here to solve a paranormal case, it is not as if we are really going to be studying here forever."

"Oh! Ya! I totally forgotten about it!" the girl stick out her tongue admitted embarrassingly.

The rest of the boys let out a sigh as they proceeded into the school building.

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Haruka slid open the door roughly as he made his first step into the noisy classroom. And as soon as he did, everyone turned quiet. Girls turned their heads away from him, boys hurried back to their seats and soft, annoying whispers were heard. He knew really well that they were whispering about him but he wasn't at all affected by them. Everyone is the same, there's no one in this class or the entire school that interests him. As he proceeded to his seat, he overheard a group of girl's loud conversation.

"Have you heard the latest news? Ayashi Mai from Class 2-B was reported missing yesterday…"

"Ayashi Mai? She's the daughter of the director of Jacky Magazine, isn't she? Oh my! Then, this made her the third person this month who went missing…This is getting creepy! Where did you hear that from? "

"I overheard Haruna-sensei and Kizuki-sensei private conversation minutes ago. It was believe that she went missing during class hours. She asked for an excuse to the restroom and never came back since. The police are now in campus investigating hers along with the two other missing cases."

"What's with this school? Will I go missing next? I'm so scared… "

"Suzuki-chan, you are always such a wimp! I bet it's just some silly pranks… I used to run away from school and home when I was younger, just to grab attention."

"_Pranks? These rich and childish kids… What a waste of time."_ Haruka thought to himself.

The classroom's door made the usual sliding noise as Haruna-sensei walked in and ordered everyone to settle back into their seats. She did her daily routine name checks before making a surprising announcement.

"Class! I will like to present four new foreign exchange students that will be joining us for the next few weeks. They came all the way from the United States and I hope everyone will treat them well."

"Exchange students? More boring people…" Haruka murmured softly.

"The four of you can come in now." Haruna-sensei facing the closed door stated.

The door was once again opened hastily. All eyes were on the four attractive strangers as they made their way into the classroom. The girls were blushing and screaming in excitement upon noticing the three idol-looking guys, while all boys were drooling over the striking-looking blonde girl.

With their appealing looks and exclusive school uniforms, they had caught Haruka's attention. The colours of their uniforms were mainly black and white with two silvery stripes drawn along their blazer collar. The black ties made a stand out against their white internal blouse. For their bottom, they had long black trousers for the guys while short black school skirt for the girl. The smart-looking uniform came with a school logo was imprinted on the left side of their blazer.

"_I believe I have seen their uniform__s somewhere before.."_ Haruka deliberately leaned forward by a little to get a better view at their school logo.

From afar, the logo design was a stand out of two white wings with a star in the middle. Below the star were three simple letters: NPA.

"_NPA? Never heard of such school… I guess all American kids wear fashionable uniform."_ Haruka thought as he relaxingly leaned back.

"Will you mind introducing yourself to the class?" Haruna-sensei asked them graciously.

"Hai! I am Usagi Tuskino, nice to meet all of you!" the girl with her long golden hair tied up neatly into two buns smiled refreshingly at the class.

"I'm Taiki Kou, nice to meet everyone here." The tallest among the four introduced himself with a slight smile.

"_Taiki Kou? His name sounds familiar. I wonder where I heard it from." _Haruka thought.

"Seiya Kou… nice to meet you." the relatively tall guy with sexy dark blue eyes followed up emotionlessly.

"Yaten Kou here…" the silvery-haired young man added reluctantly.

"Will you like to introduce your school as well?" Haruna-sensei asked.

"Sorry, but we are not allow to disclose much about our school." Taiki replied bluntly.

"_What? Some top secret school? Damn rich kids…"_- Haruka thoughts.

"Oh. It's alright then." Haruna sensei forced a small chuckle. "Let see. The four of you shall sit at the available seats around Tenoh-san."

Since the class had boycotted Haruka, no one was willing to sit besides or in front of him.

All the students still could not set their eyes off their four new classmates even after they had proceeded to their seats.

Haruka caught a glimpse of Usagi who was a table away from his right. As if she could sense him secretly peeping at her, she naturally faced him and smiled brightly. "Hi! I'm Usagi Tuskino. And you?"

He was slightly taken aback by her friendliness. "I am Haruka Tenoh…" he replied in a low voice.

"Nice to meet you, Haru-chan!" Usagi cheerily said.

"_Haru-chan?! What's with this girl acting all so intimate with me?"_ Haruka stared blankly at Usagi for a second before giving her a quick reply. "Nice to meet you…" He then hastily turned back to his textbook.

It was their usual History period. Haruna-sensei was verbally reading out lines from the history textbook throughout the lesson. Haruka hated history and practically all class modules that were currently being taught at every single school in Japan. It's not like he was given a choice, he needed them for his national entry examination to Tokyo University.

His eyes wandered dully around the classroom. Some of his classmates were listening attentively while the others were taking down notes.

The blonde at his right had her book up, but head down as she secretly napped throughout the entire lesson.

Seiya who was seated in front of Usagi had the upper half of his body lying flat against the desk as he openly slept his way in class.

In front of Haruka was the serious looking Taiki who had kept himself awake. He was reading a small notebook that was undoubtedly not related to history.

Yaten had his eyes closed and his earpieces on. Like his other three friends, he was obviously not paying attention to Haruna-sensei history lesson.

"_Why are they even here for?"_

Suddenly a loud frightening scream caught the whole class attention. Everyone was filled with terror as they witnessed through the opened class's window, a body falling down from above. It was a shocking scene, and there was a terrifying moment of silence.

"That's… That's Hitomi Kagiyu!" Haruka stood up abruptly and exclaimed.

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Haruka found himself staring at the familiar iron black door again.

"It's this dream again." With a shaky hand, he opened the door hesitantly.

Once again, everything went white.

This time, he entered into a science laboratory. As he scanned through his surrounding, he found test tubes with freshly coloured chemicals in them, taps were left on but no sound of running water was heard. Once again, he found himself surrounded by an uncomfortable sense of silence.

Then, he noticed the door opened. His eyes widened as he stared shockingly at the four incoming teenagers.

"_Why are the exchange students here?!" _

He saw them slowly making their way towards a life-sized solid closet located at the very end of the room. Stopping right in front of it, he watched in silence as Yaten placed his right hand onto the closet surface, as if he was trying to feel something from within the locked-up storage. Several seconds later, he saw him retreated his hand in distress.

From Yaten's grim expression, Haruka could tell that something about the sealed closet was amiss. He saw Yaten's lips moved but heard no words from him. The four then stared at the wooden closet for a moment longer before exiting the room.

Unable to control his curiosity, Haruka gradually walked towards the suspicious locker. Then, he extended his hand for the handle.

"LINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!"

His morning alarm woke him up once again.

"_Damn it!"_ Haruka angrily slammed his hand against the timer, setting it off.

"_What's inside the laboratory's closet?"_ Haruka badly wanted to get back to his sleep, but being under the guardian of his strict stepparents, he was not allowed to miss school. He speeded up his preparation after deciding to investigate on his strange dream.

He rushed out from the apartment, ran passed the usual stores, bought his breakfast along with a magazine that had caught his attention and boarded the early train.

He got himself a comfortable seat and focused on the magazine, The Psychic Zine, A New Vision Psychic Magazine. Though the magazine was not really informative, it did give him some brief explanation towards his paranormal dreams. _"Seeing the future in dreams… Precognition… Does this make me… No way! There's no such thing as Psychic."_

"_Precognition denotes a form of extra-sensory perception (ESP) wherein a person is said to perceive information about places or events through paranormal means before they happen." - Fact_

Even till now, Haruka was not able to swallow the fact that his dream about Hitomi jumping off from the school roof actually came true. The police had his case suspended under suicidal, but something inside Haruka tells him otherwise.

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"Hitomi Kagiyu, age seventeen, his father is the principal of this school, Megeru High. Reported missing three weeks ago, last seen after Physical Education class. Did not turn up for his next history lesson… Found dead yesterday, cause of death is blunt force trauma; jumping from the school building. Case greatly suspect as suicide." Taiki briefly read out some of the noted information.

"Ehhh? Suicide?" Usagi exclaimed in surprise.

"Aren't the police taking this case a little too lightly? Even the slow Odango know it's more than that…" Seiya stated teasingly.

"Hey Seiya! That's mean…" Usagi pouted at him.

"I was just kidding… Don't be upset…" Seiya poked her right cheek gently. Ever since young, Usagi couldn't resist to let out a smile whenever Seiya poked her on the cheek. He had always been the one who knew the best way to cheer her up and to make her smile.

"Hey… Hey… Will you two please get serious here?" asked Yaten impatiently. "Can we solve this case fast? I can't take another day in this school…"

"Looks like someone is missing his dear Minako-chan already. Oh, Minako-chan! Where are you?" Usagi called out lightly.

"It's not all because of her…!" Yaten lied, blushing lightly. The other three giggled softly as they knew very well that Minako was the main reason for him missing their home academy.

"Alright, alright! Let's get back to our assignment shall we?" Taiki leaning back against his chair stated. "Takashi Hoshuyo, age eighteen, son of the founder of Mitsuka Car Manufacture, reported missing two weeks ago. Did not show up after break hours… His whereabouts is still unknown.

Third missing student, Ayashi Mai, daughter of the director of Jacky Magazine. Reported missing two days ago, went to the washroom during her history class, never been seen after which."

"All this missing students, their biological background is pretty renowned. Did you manage to contact Hitomi's ghost last night?" Seiya facing Yaten asked.

"I did see him…" Yaten responded while folding his arm. "But, because his spirit presence is extremely low, I wasn't able to communicate with him. If he really did suicide, he would have a stronger spiritual energy. But, from what I see here, he didn't even know that he's dead."

"Anymore information about him?" Seiya facing Taiki asked dully.

"When Hitomi Kagiyu was alive, he was known to be the school worse bully and troublemaker. Because of his father's status, he pretty much bossed everybody around and that included the teachers. All in all, he was a spoilt kid with bad reputation." Taiki explained bluntly. "Not only him, the other two missing students, were equally as bad. Anyway, from what I had analysis so far, this case wasn't as tough as our previous few."

"Eh? You already found the culprit?!" Usagi asked surprisingly.

"Sort of… but we will need more supporting evidence…" Taiki replied with a smile.

"As expected from Taiki, who is he then?" Seiya questioned quickly.

"It's not a 'HE'… but 'THEY'…"

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	2. The New Discovery

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**The New Discovery**

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"Taiki-san, what do you usually do during your free time?"

"Please let us know more about you, Yaten-san!"

"Seiya-san! Can we have lunch with you later?!"

"Usagi-san, are you free this Friday night…"

The whole class had the new exchange students surrounded as loud screams of anticipations from the girls and annoying questions from the guys were heard. The four had unintentionally become popular overnight. Even girls from other classes were seen forcing their way into the packed classroom. To make matters worse, a crowd of students, all from different grades, had gathered outside of the classroom just to get a closer view at their four idols.

Seiya had possessively stood before Usagi the entire time trying to prevent any boys from touching her while he was being questioned and touched all over by the mob of girls.

"I can't take this any longer…" Seiya growled in a low voice. "PK Activa…"

He was instantly stopped by Taiki, who pulled him back by the shoulder. "Don't activate your psychic ability here…We will get ourselves expose. Just try to endure…"

"Alright, I know…" Seiya reluctantly sat back down on Usagi's front desk. Yaten with his earpieces on had adjust his music volume to the max as he sat with his arms folded, trying his best to ignore the noisy girls around him, but to no avail. He then angrily stood up, made a loud slam on the desk and shouted across to Taiki. "Taiki! Do something! Or I will turn this school haunted!"

Yaten's shout was barely audible as the deafening screams and talking had overpowered his single yell. Though Taiki could hardly catch his words, he knew Yaten had reached his limit. "_Haiz… I guess if I don't do something fast, the impatient Yaten might uncontrollably start summoning spirits to get rid of these noisy people, which will turn troublesome."_

Despite being the most patient person in the team, Taiki could endure it no further too. He boldly stepped up onto his desk, immediately grabbing everyone's attention. He then held up a colourful solid cube and announced loudly.

"Anyone who can solve this Rubik's Cube shall have his or her questions answered and maybe we might even give you a special treat." Taiki made a dazzling wink to the girls around him before throwing the cube down to the crowd. The mob of students went crazy fighting among themselves for the cube's ownership.

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"_Rubik's Cube is a mechanical puzzle. Typically, the faces of the cube are covered by nine stickers in six solid colours; there is one colour for each side of the cube. When the puzzle is solved, each face of the cube is a solid colour." – Facts._

_--_

"At last…" Yaten sat back down tiredly.

"That was a smart thinking, Taiki!" Usagi with her thumb up praised.

"Thank you." Taiki smiled warmly back at her.

"What if someone managed to solve it?" Seiya asked doubtfully.

"There's a formula in solving the Rubik's Cube, so not everyone can solve it with just one try, unless they are a born genius like me. Don't worry, the Rubik's Cube which I gave them was not the standard puzzle cube found in stores. I have specially redesigned and formulized it to a much tougher level, so the percentage of anyone solving it besides me is approximately 2.75 percent. Furthermore, with just one cube, they will be spending a long time just fighting over it. So, I can assure you that they won't be bothering us for quite some while." Taiki explained intelligently.

"I am not wrong then." An unfamiliar voice was heard. "Taiki Kou, the genius who set the world record in solving the Rubik's Cube in just 8.16 seconds while blindfolded. Not only that, you even managed to solve an impossible mathematics question that had been giving scientists and mathematicians headaches for the past decades. The amazing thing was that you solved it in less then approximately 12 seconds. The world even proclaimed you with the title the genius among the geniuses…"

The four had their eyes on Haruka as he stood in front of Taiki with a grin. "Why is such an incredible person doing in our school?"

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"_A genius is a person of great intelligence, who shows an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative and original work. Geniuses always show strong individuality and imagination, and are not only intelligent, but unique and innovative. Genius may come in a variety of forms, such as mathematical genius, literary genius, or poetic genius, etc" - Facts_

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"You have done quite a bit of research about me, I praise you for that." Taiki complimented with a smile. "You have some serious matters you want to discuss about?"

"To know my intention, you are really remarkable, Taiki-san." Haruka looking at Taiki in the eyes added. "But, do you know what is it regarding?"

"It's about your vision?" Taiki answered back calmly.

Haruka was taken aback by his response. _"This guy seems to know everything… Is this what they call a true genius?"_

"I maybe a genius but that doesn't mean I know everything…" Taiki seemingly to have read Haruka's mind replied. "I am not some psychics with telepathy abilities. It's just that judging from yesterday incident, it was impossible to determine in that split second the exact person who was falling, but you incredibly knew its Hitomi Kagiyu. Why is it so? There's only two answers into this, either you are involved in Hitomi's death or you somehow saw it before it actually happened. I did some research on you beforehand. Haruka Tenoh, age seventeen. Your parents died from a car accident ten years ago. A day before the accident, you told your parents and relatives about your strange dream regarding their death but no one believed you. After your parents passed away, you were placed under the care of your foster parents. Like most average teenagers, you seem to lead a normal life and you did not happen to have anymore abnormal dreams or visions ever since. Till recently…"

"Who are you people?!" Haruka stared alarmingly back at them exclaimed. _"Why did he know so much about me?"_

"We are not bad people…" Usagi stood up and told him convincingly. "Taiki, please don't scare him like that…"

Outside, with the effort from the teachers and disciple masters, the massive lots of students had gradually dispersed. As soon as Mr Franky, their Mathematics teacher, entered the classroom, everyone turned quiet and hurriedly returned to their seats. Mr Franky was famous for being strict and unreasonable; any student who dares defiance him will always ends up having a tougher time in school. Since he was from a well-educated background, with his parents being the top mathematics and professors overseas, he undoubtedly was selected as one of Japan best mathematics educator. Because of his _good_ reputation and status, it was never wise to skip his class without a medical certificate or to not be attentive.

"You sure about this?" Seiya was implying about letting Haruka be involve with their investigation.

"I don't see why not… More or less, he's like us. He might turn out to be of some help." Taiki replied with a smile.

"Not that I mind…" Seiya added emotionless. "But, our team never needs a sensor…"

"A sensor will be good…" Usagi poking Seiya by the back told him earnestly. Seiya then turned around and returned her with a gentle smile.

"The three of you over there, how dare you talk in my class?!" Mr Franky slammed his textbook onto the desk and shouted. "So, you are the infamous foreign students that were the main cause for all those commotion earlier."

"Sensei! It wasn't our fault! We did not call them here! They came by themselves!" Usagi raised her hand and spoke out innocently.

"I did not give you the permission to talk back!" Mr Franky snapped back at Usagi. "And you over there! The one with silvery long hair, remove your earpieces now!"

Yaten had his eyes closed and with his music tuned to the max he could not hear Mr Franky's harsh order_._

Haruka gently nudged Yaten who responsively opening his eyes. He stared blankly at Haruka who had his finger pointed towards the angry Mr Franky.

"What do you want?" Yaten asked Mr Franky while he restlessly took off his earpieces.

"You got guts for not paying attention to my lesson! For it, I shall confiscate your music player!" Mr Franky made his way towards the end of the classroom and recklessly tried snatching the player away. "Give it to me!"

"Don't you dare touch me." Yaten's cold stare had Mr Franky taking a step back.

"You! I am the teacher here! You listen to me!" Mr Franky yelled angrily. "And what's with this hair? The school does not allow boys to have long hair! I want all of your hairs cut by tomorrow!"

"You are really noisy…" Seiya covering his right ear with a finger commented annoyingly. "We are never cutting them, what can you do about it, Sensei?"

"I will have you punished! I don't care whether you are exchange students! You are now studying in our campus so you follow the school rules." Mr Franky demanded harshly.

"Sensei, let's talk about rules then." Taiki argued back with confidence. "Firstly, according to property law code number 2061, it's an offence to take any possession without gaining the permission from its owner. You are a teacher, and yet you didn't know that? It's called stealing. Secondly, yes... even though we are currently in the school campus but that doesn't make you our teacher. On the legal paper, it says that we are undergoing a foreign exchange program in Megeru High. Thus, we are to follow the program's rules and regulations not the school's. Finally, the academy we study in allows us to have long hair and since we are wearing our school's uniform, it gave us the rights to uphold our school consent. So, in conclusion, you don't have the right in laws or rules to confiscate our items or cut our hairs. You can host a complaint to our school of course, but if I were you, I will not do such an unwise and troublesome act…"

Everyone including Mr Franky was speechless. His brilliant speech had the whole class cheering and Haruka finding a new respect for Taiki. _"Wow… " _

"Nicely said, Taiki!" Usagi once again had her thumb up. Ever since young, she would use this signature pose whenever she praised Taiki.

"Thank you." Taiki, as usual, thank her with a warm smile.

Both Seiya and Yaten sat back relaxingly as they knew no one can outwit Taiki.

"I had it! The four of you! Out of my class!" Mr Franky yelled outrageously. It was his first time being place in such an embarrassing state. The fact that he was being outspoken by an unknown exchange student had him trembling in anger.

"I thought you would never say that!" Seiya stood up instantly followed by Taiki, Usagi and Yaten.

Seiya then eyed on Haruka, "Come along if you want…"

Haruka gradually got up as he liberally followed them.

"Wait! Tenoh-san you are not allowed to leave! Unlike them, you are under this school custody!" Mr Franky shouted heatedly. "You got to follow the school rules or else I will have you expel!"

Haruka stopped his step and stared displeasingly at Mr Franky. Yes! He did not like studying in this place at all, but he can't afford to be expelled from school. His stepparents will definitely not allow it and despite feeling unanticipated for his future, it was still critical not to mess it up.

"Yes, he indeed needs to follow the school code." Taiki replied quickly. "But, you can expel him. He had just been selected to join ours."

Usagi then grabbed Haruka by the arm and pulled him along.

"What?! What do you mean by that?" Mr Franky questioned fiercely but there was no respond. The five teens had already exited the classroom.

--

* * *

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"What's the meaning of this?!" Haruka exclaimed wildly. "Damn it! I can't afford to have another offence in my student record book… I really might get expel this time!"

"But you don't belong to this school in the first place." Usagi replied simply. "Because like us, you are a psychic."

"What? Is this some type of a joke? There's no such thing as psychics in this world." Haruka argued back.

"Then, try explaining why you are having such paranormal dreams?" Taiki spoke back while facing him. "There's no such thing as a coincidence you know? Everything comes with an explanation."

"I don' know why I am having such dreams!" Haruka exclaimed. "But that doesn't prove that I am a psychic or that they even exist!"

"Your ability is called Precognition a form of ESP whereby one can perceive information of the future either by dreams or sudden vision. We called people with such ability Sensor. From what I see, your sixth sense will only activate itself when there's a possible danger ahead or if the matter is important to you. Judging from this, your ability is at the beginner level…" Taiki explained to him.

"Stop crapping with me! What the hell are you talking about?! I don't believe in Psychic…" Haruka snapped back.

"You are a pretty stubborn fellow." Seiya who could tolerate Haruka's persistence no further stated. "I will be the one to convince you…"

"How?" Haruka asked doubtfully. "Don't tell me you are going to convince me by flying…"

"PK Activate!" Right after these words, Seiya's feet gradually lifted themselves off the ground and soon, his entire body was seen suspending in the air. Haruka held his breathe as he stared in disbelief at the floating Seiya. Still holding himself in the air, Seiya then made a small twirl around Haruka while folding his arm. It does seem like he was flying.

"Do you believe in Psychic now?" Seiya asked with a smirk.

Haruka was too overwhelmed by shock to even give an appropriate response. _"Am… Am I dreaming again?"_

"Hey, he seems to be paralyzed from shock." Yaten concluded while studying Haruka's expression.

"I will wake him up then." Seiya volunteered and immediately after he did, everyone including Haruka was lifted off the ground. Usagi was clapping her hands in excitement while Taiki and Yaten steadily stood suspended.

"Wait… Wait…" Haruka finally regaining his sense responded. "I believe you! Let me down…"

With this, Seiya released the group of five, including himself gently back to the ground.

"Please… Tell me that we didn't just…" Haruka was still trying to accept this unbelievable fact.

"You want me to do it again?" Seiya asked calmly.

"No… It's ok…" Haruka responded quickly. "Who exactly are you?"

"Psychics." The four of them answered shortly, catching Haruka speechless.

"Let me explain to you. We are from the National Psychical Academy, an undisclosed school whereby only special individuals with supernatural powers studied in. You can say it's a pretty extraordinary academy as it's nothing like any normal schools." Taiki explained. "The reason we are here is because we are given an assignment to find out what's behind the strange disappearance of students in this school and if Satan was involved in it."

"Satan?" Haruka questioned further.

"Satan is a crime organization whereby psychic criminal gathers. They are either the masterminds or culprits behind paranormal crimes in which average police forces could not handle. The founder and leader of Satan called himself the Grim Reaper. Crimes that are suspected to be behind the doings of Satan are normally handled by the National Psychical Investigation Force, but we are a special team of selected students who aid the NPIF with their investigation. Of course, we do not arrest or get too involve on dealing with the criminals. Our task is mainly gathering possible evidences or information, and we should avoid any usage of our psychic abilities if necessary." Taiki fully explained through.

"Then, my dream should be true then." Haruka muttered in a soft voice. After Taiki's explanation, it does seem like his vision was meant to be brought forward to the team before him.

"I have a dream recently. I saw you guys in a science laboratory and Yaten-san had his hand placed against a solid wooden closet which is located at the very end of lab. There's must be something inside the closed storage…" Haruka has his expression in deep thoughts.

"We had investigated on a couple of science laboratories, but found nothing suspicious. Did you sense any spirit presence?" Taiki facing the quiet Yaten asked.

"Nope, for some unknown reason, I am getting really weak channelling…" Yaten replied sounding a little displeases.

"Yaten-san can sense spirits?" Haruka asked in disbelief.

"Yes, he's a shaman the advance-specialized level of a whisperer. Not only can he sense or talk to the dead, he has the ability to do ritual summoning to call out spirits from the underworld and have them to aid him." Taiki explained shortly.

--

"_A whisperer is a person with the ability of mediumship; to produce psychic phenomena of a mental or physical nature. One who is thought to be able to facilitate communication with spirits of the deceased or other non-corporeal entities, either by going into a trance and allowing a spirit to use their body, or by using ESP to relay messages from the spirits. Shaman is a professional whisperer with a much higher level of mediumship." – Facts_

--

"It's about time we continue with our investigation." Seiya who did not want to waste anymore time on more explanation or talking stated. "Since the sensor foresee something unusual in a science lab, we should focus on investigating every labs available in this school."

"There's an old laboratory that was not mark on our school campus map." Haruka told them as he tried to remember the exact location. "After a serious gas leak several years ago that lead to a massive explosion within the lab itself, the school closed it down and forbid anyone to use it. If I am not mistaken, it's located at the very last floor of Block A. But I am sure the unused lab is securely locked…"

"Let's check it out then." Seiya led the team out of the rooftop.

The five youngsters were free from any unnecessary disturbance since classes were currently going on. When they finally reached the last level where the old laboratory stood, the door was predictably locked.

"How are we supposed to get in?" Haruka asked with a frown.

"Leave it to Seiya." Usagi told him with a smile.

Seiya then firmly placed his right hand onto the old metal doorknob. "PK Activate!"

"What is he doing?" Haruka asked with a confuse expression.

"He's trying to melt the metal within the door handle." Usagi explained still holding onto her smile. "Seiya is a 'PK User' who holds psychokinesis ability. But, unlike other PK users he has exceptionally strong psychic energy, which sometime caused him to lose control of his power."

"Done." Seiya announced with a smirk as the doorknob came loose a second later.

--

"_Psychokinesis, PK for short denotes the paranormal ability of mind to influence matter, time, space, or energy without the use of any currently known type of physical means. Examples of psychokinesis could include distorting or moving an object without physically touching it, and the famous spoon bending." – Fact_

--

Despite being an unused lab, there were test tubes filled with chemical on the laboratory tables and burners were on. It seemed as if someone had just exited the laboratory and deliberately left everything as it is.

"_This place looks just like my dream…"_ Haruka realized in shock.

Yaten immediately sensed an extremely strong struggling spirit from the very corner of the laboratory. He hastily ran over to a life-sized solid closet and placed his palm against the wooden surface.

"There are two crying spirits currently being trapped inside." He than alarmingly removed his hand as he felt a sudden intense energy repelled him.

"Yaten! Are you alright?" Usagi asked in concern as they looked unpleasantly at Yaten's scorched palm.

"No wonder I couldn't sense any spirits presence from the outside, this wooden storage is covered with anti-spiritual force." Yaten concluded in a growl.

"Looks like we need to punish more naughty students…" a unfamiliar voice was heard by the entrance of the laboratory. Haruka eyes widened with shock as he stared at the familiar faces.

"My analyses are right then." Taiki asserted in a clear tone. "You teachers are really behind all this…"


	3. A Life Change

**--**

**A Life Change**

--

"Good kids are not supposed wander around at a time like this." An old British man who Haruka recognized as the disciple head said with a sarcastic smile. "You are supposed to be in class now… Tsk! Tsk! I see… All of you are skipping classes without appropriate reasons. For that, you shall all be punished… By DYING!"

The other four teachers were heard chuckling along and soon the whole laboratory was filled with their eerie and sadistic laughter.

"Mr. Maxwell! You…" Haruka thoughtlessly called out to his disciple head. _"Dying? What did he meant by that?"_

"Yes… Yes… This school is filled with naughty and spoilt kids! Students who don't listen and rebel against us teachers… They should all die!" Mr. Maxwell paused for a breath before continuing. "But we did not expect you, Haruka Tenoh to be one of them. Though you had a black mark in the school report for physical violence, you were a good student. Attending class regularly and being respectful to us teachers… Why? What made you change? Was it them?" He was referring to the four newly exchange students.

"Tenoh-san is still the same, no one changed him." Taiki spoke up in a clear tone. "The ones who had changed are you discipliners."

"What rubbish are you talking about?!" one of the male teacher snapped at Taiki.

"Rubbish?" Taiki looking at them directly spoke on. "I've done research on every one of you here, Mr. Maxell, Kushita-sensei, Matakito-sensei, Miss Mandy and Shubika-sensei. The five of you were from various top scholar-schools worldwide, and were really well-respected by both your peers and students till you got transferred to this prestigious school, Megeru High. 90 percent of the students here are either filthy rich or came from famed family backgrounds and 76 percent of them would use their family power and money to cover up for their wrong doings. For instance, they would bribe or threaten teachers. Sadly, all of you here were once some students' threat victims, with no one to justify your rights since many other teachers were too frightened to fight back. Eventually, your pure souls were filled with hatred. The ill-disciplined students and various unjustified educators here changed you. Even so, what you teachers are doing now is wrong…"

"Why?! Why do you know so much about us?!" Mr. Maxwell and the rest of the teachers' eyes widened showing obvious unstable confusion.

"What is wrong with them?" Haruka taking a step back asked in a stunned tone. From the unusual behaviour and the abnormal expression they were portraying, there was definitely something amiss about them.

"They are suffering from personality disorder." Taiki explained without looking at Haruka. "Briefly, it's a mental illness that will cause one to either have extreme mood or personality change. It's not a good sight here…"

"This is getting troublesome…" Seiya let out a sigh. "For a second there, I thought our job here was done…"

"You students are bad! Real bad! We will have to punish you!" The teachers were screaming wildly as they circled the room by the four corners with Mr. Maxwell in the middle and began chanting words under their breath.

"Don't! Don't do the ritual! You can't handle the Karma!" Yaten yelled out desperately. "Seiya! Stop them!"

With it, Seiya sent out an invisible force, and the five educators lifted off ground. He violently flung them against the corners wall, knocking some of them out conscious.

"Seiya! That's too rough!" Usagi shrieked.

But, she did not blame him for delivering such strong blow as she knew very well that Seiya didn't meant to hurt them. He had psychic energy so strong that controlling it flow became difficult. Back at the academy where the other PK Users were taught ways to strengthen their psychic energy, Seiya was learning the opposite. Unlike them, he was given special classes whereby he would practice on lowering his PK force.

"I'm sorry…" Seiya looking a little distress apologized.

"You don't have to feel bad about it Seiya!" Usagi tried cheering him up added. "Look! At least one of them is conscious!" She pointed at the moaning Mr. Maxwell. "You have improved! In our previous case, you had all of them knocked out cold! I am sure the next time… There will be at least TWO conscious victims!"

"_Victims? That's not the way to comfort someone, Usagi-san…" _Haruka and Yaten were all speechless by her thoughtless console.

"Thank you." Seiya smiled and patted her on the head.

"_He's fine with it?!" _

The two of them screamed in disbelief from within. To them, Usagi's words of comfort sounded more like an insult and they did not understand why Seiya was lightened by it. Maybe that's the power of love.

Yaten let out a sigh of defeat as he slowly approached the only conscious Mr. Maxwell. "Someone from Satan taught you the method to perform the Gaki summoning ritual, am I right? Not only that, they even came down personally to set an anti-spiritual force, so even high shaman like me couldn't sense much spirit presence. Where are they now?!"

"Why must I tell bad students like you?" Mr. Maxwell responded with a slight grin.

"This is important!" Yaten suddenly raised his voice. His loud and stern tone had caught everyone's attention. "Do you know the consequences behind summoning Gakis to kill someone for you? They are no normal ghosts! They consume the summoners life-span in an exchange for a kill! You even summoned the Gakis three times! I bet Satan didn't tell you… That you will definitely die after all this…"

--

"_In Japanese traditional belief, Gaki (meaning hungry ghost in English) are spirits of jealous or greedy people who, as punishment for their mortal vices, have been cursed with an insatiable hunger for a particular substance or object. Upon summoning one, it will come back into the world of living to feed off the living. In exchange for its return to the underworld, it will need to feed off the energy (referring to life-source) of the one who summoned it." - Facts_

--

"No! You are lying!" Mr. Maxwell was seen shaking his head wildly. "No! It's not true! He said that the Gakis will help me punish all those naughty kids! He didn't say anything about me dying! Why must I die?! All of you should die! All you bad students!"

Haruka was traumatized by everything. The fact that there was really such ritual like the Gaki's summoning, and that his teachers will have to pay with their life for using the Gakis as murder tools were so unbelievable and cruel. Is this how the paranormal live upon?

"I've informed the NPIF, they will be here soon." Taiki stated while looking down at the mentally disordered Mr. Maxwell who was still shaking his head vigorously and murmuring words under his breath. "Our job here is done. Let's leave him to the police."

"No! Don't go! Save me! I don't want to die!" Mr. Maxwell desperately grabbed Haruka by his leg. "It's not fair! I can't die… No… I can't die…"

Despite knowing Mr. Maxwell sinful doings, Haruka could not help but feel sympathy. "Wait!" He called out to the four leaving teens. "How can you guys just leave him here like that?! It's true that he's a murder, but you can't just let him die! Can't you do something about it? Aren't you guys psychics?! Yaten-san, you are a highly-levelled whisperer right?! Can't you save him?!"

"That's why I hate amateurs." Yaten asserted with a half-tilled face. "We psychics are not god. There's nothing we can do to save him. Have you heard of Karma? There's always a price to pay for performing such rituals. In the world of the living, we have rules and laws, and that applies to the underworld as well. You got to follow the 'law of the dead' if you were to summon evil spirits like this. It may sound horrible, but no one can save him from being consumed by the Gakis. That's the rule… That's his karma."

--

"_In Spiritism, Karma is known as "the law of cause and effect", plays a central role in determining how one's life needs to be for the consequences of the crimes committed by one last beyond the psychical life and cause him pain in the afterlife." – Facts_

--

"No! Why must it be this way?!" Haruka yelled back at disbelief. "It just sounds so wrong…"

"Haru-chan…" Usagi suddenly spoke up. "I can understand your distress. The consequences that the teachers got to face may seem unjustified but that how it works. When one get involves with the laws of the underworld, he got to take retribution for his sins. We have no rights to judge or stop it. There is limitation to what we can do in our supernatural world." She paused for a second and gazed back down at the insane Mr. Maxwell. "So to prevent incident like this from happening again, we are already trying our best to capture the masterminds behind all this, Satan."

Haruka clutched his fist in displease. "Why? Why are they doing all this to the innocence? Teaching them ways to kill and playing with life as if they were toys! That's unforgivable!"

"The founder and the leader of Satan, the Grim Reaper, he's believed to be an extraordinary powerful psychic." Seiya explained with his arms folded. "But unlike us, he cannot agree to the World Law for not disclosing that psychics are real. In his view, it's unfair that the world is not made known about our existence or takes us as false. Thus, he gathered psychics' criminals or psychics who have the same belief… And that's how Satan, the crime organization was formed. Satan's objective is to have the whole world becoming a place whereby psychic and the paranormal rules. Masterminding and doing crimes are just one of their steps to achieve this goal."

"That's rubbish! Just because of some childish reason like this, they take innocent life as if they were some sort of a stepping stone?!" Haruka exclaimed back unbelievably.

"That's the paranormal world…" Seiya walking out of the room along with his other companions asserted. "Now you know that there's nothing fun about it…"

--

* * *

--

"Once again, the Four Great Aces ruined your master plan, Dr Tomoe." A lady dressed in a black mini-dress exclaimed.

"Not really…" the man in specs responded with a smile. "At least I got to witness once more the Nemesis, Seiya Kou's amazing PK energy. Furthermore, I had predicted it to end this way, with the five teachers' death and students killed. But I did not expect a sensor to turn up half-way and ruin my main objective… that is to uncover Usagi Tsukino psychic ability. If this crime had lasted longer, I am convinced that I will be able to witness her one-of-a-kind supernatural power."

"Usagi Tsukino, she's the one our leader takes interest in?" The lady looking at Usagi's photo asked with a frown. "She's cute but isn't our boss a little too old for her?"

"You have mistaken, Black Lady…" Tomoe responded with a smirk. "You are new here so I won't blame you for not knowing about this. The Grim Reaper is interested in her powers. Among the Four Aces, she's the only one who we hadn't been seen using any psychic ability during their crime investigation. Though we know very little about her power, it's believed that her unique ability could take over the world. Five years ago, her rebelling incident with the infamous Kou's family had the whole psychical world stunned. The Kou family is a well-known bloodline in the psychical world for generations. Those who were born under this bloodline had great and strong psychic abilities. And the most powerful and feared child in the Kou family is the Nemesis, Seiya Kou. Well, his powers are uncontrollably dominating, that was what made him a murder at the age of six, killing all those that went near him. He was placed under isolation for three years… How he got to meet Usagi Tsukino was not known. Fearing his extraordinary power, it was five years ago when the psychical government and the Kou family decided to have Seiya Kou executed. No one stepped up to stop it, either they didn't dare or didn't want to… Except for one thirteen years' old girl, Usagi Tsukino."

"No way! She alone went against all this high-status psychics… Don't tell me…" Black lady was too taken aback to continue further.

"Yes! With her unknown power, she single-handedly prevented anyone from executing Seiya Kou." Tomoe explained with a nod. "This got the whole psychical world shocked! How did she do it? It's not revealed. But one thing's for sure, if Seiya Kou is the Nemesis, then Usagi Tsukino is the Chaos." Picking up Usagi's photo from his desk, Tomoe continued. "Not as innocent as she looks huh? That's why the Grim Ripper wants her to be part of ours… With her, conquering the world won't be a dream anymore."

"But with her mysterious power and with the other three Aces by her side, it does seem impossible for us to get close to her." Black lady stated sounding a little disturbed. "Not forgetting your archrival Taiki Kou, I heard about your battling relationship with this amazing genius… And I can't believe you lost to him! I thought your phenomenal intelligence is one of the highest in the whole Satan organization, but he beat you? No wonder they called him the genius among genius."

Tomoe stared irately at Black Lady, "You just wait and see! I shall strip the title off him eventually!"

"No… No… I will be the one who will claim Taiki-san's title." An older gentleman entered the room as he made his first speech. "I heard you failed your mission again, Dr Tomoe."

"What do you want, Dr. Kuro?" Tomoe asked in an irritated accent.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Kuro!" Black lady stood up stiffly and bowed formally.

"Good afternoon to you, junior." Kuro then shifted his attention back to Tomoe. "Nakago-san knew about your failure attempts in uncovering Usagi Tsukino's power and so he had replaced me to do the job for you."

"What?! Replacement?!" Tomoe exclaimed in shock. "What makes him think that you can do a better job than me?"

"It's obviously because, compared to you, I got a much higher 'power of intelligence'." Kuro explained proudly. "Don't be too upset, Dr. Tomoe. For your sake, I will work even harder. And with my perfect plan, very soon… Tsukino-san power shall be revealed."

--

* * *

--

"Yeah! We are finally free from our investigation!" Usagi cheered joyfully. "I hate crime solving… It hurts my brain…"

"That's because you have extremely low intelligence power…" Seiya teased. "Throughout the cases, Taiki was our main intellectual. You hardly solve anything, Odango."

"That's mean!" Usagi gently rapped his front chest. "I know I do not have high intelligence, I am not a specialized whisperer like Yaten, and I can't use PK energy… But I did try my best to help everyone out!"

Seiya giggled happily as he reached out for Usagi's hands and lovingly pulled her into his arms. "I was just kidding. You played a very important role in our investigation assignment, since it will be dull and so quiet without you."

"Ehhhhh?!" Usagi pulled back a little and exclaimed. "Are you trying to tell me that I am noisy?! Meanie Seiya! Meanie Seiya!"

"No… No… I didn't mean that." Seiya was laughing lightly at her adorable reaction. "You have always been the life of our team. The Four Aces cannot be complete without you, the Ace of Hearts."

"Really?!" Usagi asked suspiciously. "But-but, Taiki was always the one solving everything, Yaten was a great help when it comes to communicating with the dead victims and you helped knock out the criminals… Oh no! I was USELESS…"

Usagi was seen drawing circles with her index finger in the corner as she murmured out emotionally. "I am a useless Ace…"

Seiya patted her gently on the head and smiled, "If you are useless…I would have died five years ago."

"That got nothing to do with our assignments!" Usagi exclaimed loudly. "And didn't I tell you to NEVER bring this incident up or think about it again?!"

"I'm sorry…" Seiya smile lightly and looked down as he reflected about his past life.

Then, a second later, he felt two delicate hands gracefully embracing him and a soft lip touching his forehead lightly. "Neh… It hurts me to see you recalling all these bad memories. It's the past… and for the future, it will definitely be bright and beautiful… I can guarantee it…"

Seiya smiled warmly at Usagi's words. His first encounter with her years back was the best thing that had ever happened to him. She was the only one back then, who did not fear him despite knowing his dangerous power, but not only that, she was surprisingly keen on making friends with him. In both good times and bad, she was there by his side, always smiling and cheering him on. And eventually, he realized that he cannot live without her. He adoringly wrapped his strong arms around her as they gazed affectionately into each others eyes.

Then Seiya's cell phone rang interrupting the the couple. Usagi giggled softly as the displeased Seiya answered his phone annoyingly, "What do you want, Taiki?!"

"Oh! Did I manage to disturb your sweet moment with Usagi?" Taiki asked in an assured tone.

"You called just for this?!" Seiya yelled back at him.

"Partly. And to inform you that both Yaten and I had settled all the documental procedures for this case. We are on our way back…So the two of you should start packing... we will be catching the night flight back to the academy." Usagi could hear Taiki clear voice escaping through the cell phone.

"Yes… One more thing…" Taiki added.

"What?" Seiya asked sounding rather annoyed.

"Can I speak to Usagi?"

Seiya instantly hung up without replying. "Curse that Taiki for being a genius, always spotting the right time to get in our way!"

Usagi giggled cheerfully, "Though I don't understand the situation… It's pretty funny…"

"It's not funny… Baka…That's because he likes you…" Seiya mumbled softly.

"Eh? What did you say?" Usagi who couldn't catch his words asked innocently.

Seiya let out a sigh, "I said, we should get packing before they get back."

--

* * *

--

Haruka got out of his room hastily when he heard the doorbell rang.

"_Who could it be?"_

It can't be his stepparents, they are never home before ten and he had no close friends that would visit him without previous notice.

Opening the door, he was surprised to find three formally dressed gentlemen by the entrance.

"Good evening. You must be Haruka Tenoh. I'm Hatori Sohma and we are from the National Psychical Academy." The man in the middle with his long front hair covering his left eye introduced himself.

"The NPA?" Haruka was in shock by what he had just heard. "Sorry to keep all of you waiting, please come in."

Immediately after, the three gentlemen entered the small living room, Haruka hurriedly prepared some Japanese tea for his guests. Placing the cups down he started off politely, "Sorry, but green tea is all we have. I hope it suits your taste."

"No problem. We are just fine with any tea." Hatori replied with a smile of gratitude. "I heard you were quite some help to the Aces on their recent case."

"The Aces? Are you referring to Usagi-san and the others?" Haruka questioned.

"Yes. They are known as the Four Aces in our psychical world mainly because of their advanced powers levels and being involved with us, the National Psychical Investigation Force. It's just convenient us to call them by the Aces." The man with long silvery-white hair spoke up. "Oh! How rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am the chief investigator of the NPIF, my name is Ayame Sohma."

"_His silvery-white hair and light emerald eyes…He looks like Yaten-san…" _Haruka thought deeply.

"That's because I am Yaten-chan older brother!" Ayame answered without hesitation.

"Ah?! How?! How did you know what I was thinking?!" Haruka stood up stunningly.

"I am a telepathist! I can read your mind." Ayame responded excitedly. "Our family tree is rather complex… that's the reason for me and Yaten-chan having different last name. Oh! Did I mention that I have another adorable brother too? His name is Yuki…"

--

"_Telepathist is a person who is able to make use of Telepathy, a psychic ability to read the minds of others." - Facts_

--

"No one is interested in your family issue, Ayame." Hatori sounding a little irritated said. "And you are not even supposed to be here."

"Nooooo! How can you say such things, Hatori?! We have been best friends since babies… That's just so hurtful. Shigeru please lend me your shoulder to cry on!" Ayame dramatically hugged the other gentleman at his right.

"Don't worry Ayame! Even if the whole world hates you! I, Shigeru Sohma, will support you all the wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy…" his embracing partner sounding as dramatic as Ayame cried out.

"The both of you should just die…" Hatori mumbled in a low voice.

"Ex… Excuse me?" Haruka interrupted. _"What's with this people?"_

"I apologize for their childish behaviour." Hatori focusing his attention back to Haruka said. "The reasons we are here today are to confirm your identity and elucidate on your psychic ability."

"Pardon me." Shigeru approached the seated Haruka and placed his left hand low over Haruka's brow. The moment his hand touched his forehead, Haruka mind went blank for a short second.

"It's confirm. He's a Precognition-sensor…" Shigeru releasing his hand responded.

"What was all that about?" Haruka backing a little asked alarmingly.

"I am sorry to have startled you." Shigeru apologized while still holding onto his smile. "I am one of the lecturers in NPA and am also a specialized Seer. In other words, a specialized levelled Sensor with the ability of Power Sensing."

--

"_A Seer or Prophet is a professionally trained sensor with the ability to either sense a clearer or exact image of the future OR specialized in other sensory ability such as Power Sensing; the ability to recognized or sense paranormal power. There are a wide range of power attributes for different specialized Seer or Prophet." – Story Facts_

--

"You have quite a huge hidden amount of ESP…" Shigeru continued. "That's a rare sign… With regular parapsychology training and studying, you might be able to advance to a Prophet's in the next two to three years."

"I don't understand the situation at all…" Haruka exclaimed why shaking his head lightly.

"Tenoh-san…" Hatori low call caught Haruka's attention. "Let's me clarify the situation here. Our academy has agencies worldwide that help us seek out any unverified psychics, you being one of them. Upon finding one, we will attest to his psychical ability before bringing him into the academy. NPA is located in the Country of Psychics, also known as the Bermuda Triangle. It only serves as an entrance for those with paranormal abilities. Once you are accepted into our academy, you can only leave our country with verify permission or if you were given out-of-school assignment."

--

"_Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region of the north-western Atlantic Ocean in which a number of aircraft and surface vessels have disappeared in what are said to be circumstances that fall beyond the boundaries of human error or acts of nature. Some of these disappearances have been attributed to the paranormal, a suspension of the laws of psychics, or activity by extraterrestrial beings by popular culture." – Facts_

--

"Wait… Wait…" Haruka was trying his best to swallow what he had just heard. "You are saying the Bermuda Triangle is a country for the psychics?! That's the most unbelievable thing I had ever heard!! How am I supposed to tell my parents? They will never believe it!"

"You don't have to…" Hatori responded calmly. "After you chose to be part of our academy, you will lose all your identities in this normal world. In other words, everyone who knows you including your parents, relatives or friends will have no memories of you. A troop of memory manipulators will be call forth to cancel out everyone's past or present recollections that involved your existence. It's necessary, because this is the World Law. All psychics are to remain undisclosed to prevent disorder in the world of science."

--

"_Memory manipulator is one with the ability to cancel out another's memories."_

--

"You are telling me that everyone I know will forget about me?" Haruka asked in disbelief. "How can you expect me to accept this?!"

"Tenoh-san, you are not the only one. Some of the students in the academy had experienced what you are going through right now. You have met Usagi-san right? Like you, she was initially discovered from this normal world by us… And if you think that your current situation is unacceptable, than hers will be hell to you." Hatori said in a serious tone.

"Usagi-san? She was from here?" Haruka asked sounding a little surprise.

"Yes… Just that she wasn't as lucky as you." Hatori explained with a pause. "That dreadful night, a group of evading psychic criminals held her parents along with her hostage and escaped. When we finally reached their hideout, the criminals were all dead, including her parents. The cause of death is suicidal. Yes, strange isn't it? They, for some reasons, took their own life… And the only survivor was the nine years old Usagi Tsukino. The former NPIF suspected she was the cause of their unusual death. Then, many things happened after we took her in… But despite it all, she accepted it and remained cheerily… What an unbelievable girl... Compared to hers, don't you think yours are rather tolerable?"

"That's… That's…" Haruka was unable to react. Who could have believed that a girl who always holds onto a bright smile would have such tragic past?

"Well, you can choose not to be part of the academy." Hatori continued in his usual tone. "But for that, I will have to erase your memories along with your fresh psychical powers… Sorry, but it's the law. Your future is yours to choose. Let me give you words of advice, the world of the paranormal is never that simple, and if you are looking forward for a stable life, I suggest that you to stay the way you are now."

There were minutes of dry silence as Haruka had his face faced down in deep thoughts. Should he join them and have everyone he knew forgetting him? Or should he stay the way he is now without remembering anything about the psychical means? But, if he was to retain his normal life will he be contented? What about the crime organization, Satan? He was still enraged by what had happened this morning, about the fact that Satan is toying around with innocent life.

"I …" Haruka finally looked up. "I will join you... To the world of the paranormal."

The three gentlemen smiled lightly at his phrase of acceptance. "Then, should we say…"

"Welcome to National Psychical Academy."

--


	4. The Genius Past and the New Semester

**-**

**The Genius Past and the New Semester**

--

"Hey… Hey… That child… Isn't he the cousin of the Nemesis?" the pathway was filled whispers as bystanders secretly stole a glance at a nine years old boy. "His name is Taiki Kou… Yes… Yes… from the Kou bloodline."

The little boy with straight auburn hair overheard some of the whispering and was trying his very best to ignore those adults' words. He was accompanied by his parents as they made their way out of Oxford University.

The undertones were still growing strong, making him the centre of attention.

"He's a born genius… At the age of nine, he earned a Doctorate Degree in Science of Law… Amazing isn't it?"

"Not only that, I heard he's also a Mathematical prodigy… He managed to solve an impossible equation in less than ten minutes… This had the world top Mathematicians and Scientists caught in amazement…"

--

"_A Child Prodigy is an individual that masters one or more skill or arts in an early age. One generally accepted heuristic for identity prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than ten years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding field or endeavour." - Facts_

--

"Yes...It's Taiki Kou… the Wonder Child…"

"A freak child you mean? With an IQ of 226... He's more like an alien to me..."

"Isn't that way beyond just simple genius? He's too weird… that's scary…"

"I heard his cousin was worse…"

Taiki was controlling his displease emotion as he gazed up at his expressionless mother who was talking on the cell phone. She was arranging a flight back to the Psychical State, his home country. He has gotten his Doctoral Degree with ease and was leaving this top University. Both his parents never congratulated him and the only words that came from them was: "You are not a normal child, we expect more from you."

He hated the university, he hated the adults who knew about him, he hated his achievements that were too easy earned, he hated his parents for never loving him, he hated his life but mostly, he hated himself for being born exceptional in everything.

"_Is there anything in this world that I can't achieve?"_ Those were the sad thoughts he once had. _"This world is so uninteresting… There's nothing challenging… Everyone thinks the same of me…"_ Little Taiki was standing at the very bounder edge of the roof. His home school peak is thirteen storeys high but the view was dull and boring.

"I shall end this meaningless life…"

But, before he could take a step forward, the roof door gently slid open, interrupting his intention.

"Are you stupid?" a little girl voice was heard asking.

Was she talking to him? He? Taiki Kou? A genius and child prodigy stupid?!

Turning around, Taiki found a little blonde with sky-blue eyes staring up at him innocently.

"Are you stupid?" She asked again with a slight smile.

"Who are you calling stupid?" Taiki asked in disbelief, since it was the first time someone addressed him with such adjective. "I bet, you don't understand that word at all, little girl."

The young girl shook her head lightly, "I maybe bad at vocabulary but I do understand the term 'stupid', it's mean lack of intellectual acuity."

"Since you know the meaning of this word, why are you using it on me?" Taiki inquired, gazing down at her. "Do you know who am I?"

The girl shook her head once more, "I don't know. But I do know you are not very bright because, only the foolish will stand at such a dangerous spot to watch the sunset. Do you know that you will fall if you move any further?"

Taiki chuckled lightly at her reply, "I guess you are the stupid one here…"

The girl unexpectedly giggled at his respond and stuck her tongue out, "Heee… Everyone says that …"

"I can't believe you are actually feeling happy over being called stupid." Taiki shook his head in disbelief. "And by the way, I am not watching the sunset… I am intending to suicide here."

"Hmmm…" The girl was surprising calm upon knowing his intention. "Is it fun?!"

"Fun?!" Taiki looking back at her unbelievably exclaimed. "Are you seriously dumb or what? What's so fun about wanting to suicide?!"

"Ehhh?! If it isn't fun, then why are you doing it?! You are the dumb one here!" Usagi exclaimed.

Taiki was taken aback by her respond. "What are you saying? You don't understand… To be born a genius, to achieve and know everything without any effort… Can't you see? There's nothing I CAN'T achieve in this world! With no challenges… or anyone special… I don't have anything to look forward to in this life! There's no meaning at all!"

"If you live on, you can see the sunrise tomorrow." The girl responded back with a calm smile. "The sunrise is really beautiful! But, the sunset is spectacular too! Look!"

She pointed at the far west behind him. Taiki thoughtlessly followed her pointer and there he saw the brightly colour sky, with the shades of red and orange. The clouds were scattered with red hues and in the midst of all the vibrant was the orangey, gold half-sphere sun. It was a miracle beauty. The breath-taking scenery had led him forgetting about his sad purpose for being on the roof.

"WAHHHHHHH!!"

Taiki turned toward the scream of joy and was startled to find the blonde girl standing besides him dangerously as she yelled across to the setting sun.

"Baka!" Taiki harshly pulled her down from the top bounder edge. "It's dangerous up there! What do you think you are doing?"

The girl was laughing cheerily, "That's! That was so fun! The sunset is so wonderful isn't it?!"

Taiki couldn't help but chuckled along. That was his very first time laughing and it felt good, he liked it and somehow wished that moment to last forever. When he finally gazed back at the little blonde, he noticed her smiling sweetly at him. "Neh! Let's watch the sunset again tomorrow!"

Taiki blushed a little and nodded gently.

"I'm Taiki Kou, what's your name?" He asked shyly.

The little girl stood up and with a bright smile responded. "Nice to me you Taiki-chan! I'm Usagi Tsukino!"

It was at that beautiful dusk, when Taiki found his first meaning in life. As promised, little Usagi would turn up on the roof every evening and they would watch the sunset together. Gradually, her cheerfulness had influenced him as he was seen smiling and laughing more.

"WAHHHHH!! The view today is so awesome too!" She was laughing happily once more. "Next time, I will definitely bring Seiya here!"

"Seiya?" Taiki asked curiously. _"Is she referring to the Nemesis, Seiya Kou? No way! How can she possibly be intimate to such a dangerous child? It must be someone else then…"_

Little Usagi nodded with anticipating, "He's my friend! Though he hasn't agrees on it yet, I'm sure that VERY soon we will be great friends! I have tried making friends with him for the past months…" She let out a slight sigh. "But… But… he ignored me! He said I was weird… Am I really THAT strange Taiki-chan?!" Usagi asked with big puppy eyes.

Taiki was dumbfounded by her cuteness as he sat there blushingly, "No… Not really… Maybe a little though…"

Yes, she was indeed weird, or should he call it different? For a nine year old, Taiki had met a large range of people worldwide, from normal businessmen to top professors and governments. But it was his first time meeting someone so out of the ordinary like Usagi.

"Hump!" Usagi folded her arms adding a little fieriness pouted. "It's alright! I will not give up! I will persevere on till he's willing to be my friend! WAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

"This Seiya person you were talking about…" Taiki asked with a hitch.

"Hm?" Usagi gazed innocently back at him. "He has the same last name as you! I am sure you know him! Is he your relative?"

"Ah?! You are serious about this?!" Taiki stood up abruptly asked. "No way!"

Usagi had a huge smile on her face as she nodded keenly. "Yes! OH! I just came up with a great idea!" She clapped her hands eagerly. "Let's meet him tomorrow together!! Yes!! You and Me!! And we shall drag him along and watch the sunset! YEAH! I am so sure he will agree on it!"

"You got to be kidding!" Taiki exclaimed in disbelief. "Do you seriously know this guy? He's a really dangerous psychic! You might get killed if you get too involve with him! Everyone fears him and avoids him… But why did you…"

Usagi shook her head gently and smiled, "He's not dangerous… I can tell…"

"I am sure you have heard about him." Taiki let out a sigh of defeat. "No one doesn't know his name in the Psychical State. Seriously, how can you tell what he's like when you have only known him for a month or two?

There was a moment of silence as the breeze blew past, drifting their hairs along. Her eyes softened and with a slight smile, she responded.

"Because… Seiya and I… We are the same…"

--

* * *

--

The pair of dreamy violent eyes stared wearily at the curved-in ceiling. Taiki reactively placed his right hand over his eyes as he continued to lie there silently. He dreamt about his first encounter with Usagi again. It was nice, whether in dream or reality. Wasn't she always there? Smiling and brightening up his day and life. Yes! She was his first purpose and if she hadn't appeared on the roof back then, he would never be who he was now, alive and contented. Days were always fun and meaningful with her, and unlike others, she never judged him and never put on a fake expression.

If only, he had met her earlier. Will she…?

"Usagi…" Taiki mumbled out softly.

"Yes?!"

Taiki alarmingly opened his eyes and turn toward the all so familiar voice.

"Usagi?" Taiki startlingly shot up.

"You finally woke." Seiya leaning against the plane's windowpane spoke out restlessly. "We have been waiting for you like this for almost an hour."

Taiki instantly realized that he had slept passed the time of arrival and he was still onboard the private plane.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"I would have if it's not for Odango…" Seiya responded as he folded his arm. "She didn't want to disturb your sleep and insisted on waiting for you to wake up before setting back."

Taiki gazed affectionately down to Usagi who was smiling.

"That's because Taiki had been working real hard on our assignments! And you didn't had much sleep lately!" she responded lightly. "We didn't want to leave you behind. It's always been this way right ?! The four of us going back together after an assignment, though this time Yaten ran off before us to meet Minako-chan… But, don't blame him!"

Taiki smiled lovingly back at Usagi. _"This girl, she hadn't change a bit…"_

"Odango, I thought you were starving? Shall we get going then?" Seiya walking towards the plane exit asked.

"Hai!" Usagi ran over excitedly and grabbed Seiya by his arm. "Hey Taiki! Seiya is cooking Pork Chops today! Hurry up!" She then waved to Taiki with anticipation before looking back to Seiya. "Seiya! I want lots of ketchup…"

"Hai… Hai…"

Taiki saw Seiya's gentle smile as he responded to her request. He gradually followed the couple but his eyes were set on the man next to Usagi. If there was one person this genius couldn't beat.

That was Seiya.

The Four Aces was practically like a family, they played together, took examinations together, skipped classes together and even stayed under the same roof. It had always been fun and their memories were filled with laughter. According to the moments they shared, Taiki knew very well that Seiya was the only one who could truly make Usagi smile. He had witnessed her without Seiya, those were painful days… Days he would never want to recall… But still…

"Robin-chan!" Usagi was thrilled to find their Archaeology lecturer by the waiting counter and immediately rushed towards the tall, sexy lady. "You are here as promised! Where's Vivi-chan and Lulu-chan?!"

Leaving Usagi under his lecturer's care, Seiya thoughtfully went off to collect their baggage. When he was about to reach for Usagi's, a hand came forth and grabbed her case by the handle.

"I am not losing to you…" Taiki lifting her bag told Seiya with a smile.

Picking his up, Seiya gave his immediate respond. "I have no intention on losing either…"

Usagi had brought the two distant cousins together. Though they didn't make a good first impression, they did however become best friends and partners over the years. Taiki grew to respect Seiya's strength and his relationship with Usagi, and as for Seiya, he had always trusted Taiki's ability and saw him as an older brother. Despite having similar affection for this one girl, the two cousins have really close bonds and cares deeply for each other.

"This is going to be one long battle…" Taiki looking into those dark blue eyes said.

"It doesn't matter." Seiya replied confidently. "For, I am never letting go…"

"Same here…" Taiki responded an equal assurance. "I am never giving up..."

"Hey Seiya! Taiki!" Usagi called out and waved enthusiastically to her two friends. "Hurry! Our chauffeur is waiting for us at the lobby!"

They eventually caught up with two awaiting ladies.

"Nice to have the four of you back with us." The striking-looking lecturer smiled.

"Thank you. It's been a quite a while, Robin-san." Taiki gave his gratitude.

"Have you been doing well lately?" Seiya asked along the way.

"I've been doing pretty fine till I reached an airport filled with your screaming fans." Robin light-heartedly replied.

As soon as they stepped out to the main lobby, the quiet atmosphere was replaced with deafening screams and cheers.

"ACES!! THE ACES ARE BACK!!"

Upon seeing them, the crowd instantly went crazy as they chanted their names. "SEIYA!! AHHHHHHHHH!! TAIKI!! AHHHHHHHH!! LOOK OVER HERE!!"

Securities were called forth to control the commotion as the three celebrities gradually make their way into the black limousine.

In the Psychical State, the four Aces are extremely famous. They are not only popular for having the powerful Kou bloodlines, but also for their striking-looks and the exclusive powers they held. Their popularity grew bigger with the release of their first music album. It all started out as a holiday entertainment two years ago when Usagi secretly signed them up for a singing audition with her being their manager. The three reluctant boys somehow got persuaded into it and shockingly made a blast in the music industry. Their life has never been busier ever since…

"I'm getting pretty sick with all this attention." Seiya said with a sigh.

"But… it's fun!" Usagi answered with a cheer.

"Everything is fun to you, Usagi." Taiki laughed softly.

"No!" Usagi gave a quick respond. "Exams and tests are no fun!!"

"Oh? I assumed that you won't be enjoying this new semester then." Robin continued with a smile. "Since there will be three major examinations. For your case, two are compulsory and one is optional since you guys sacrificed your holidays to help the NPIF out."

Usagi let out a really loud sigh of grief. "I am so going to fail the written exams! Especially for my Archaeology papers and Omi-language papers… not forgetting parapsychology… NOOOOO!! I may end up retaining while you guys move up to the next grade! We will be separated! NOOOOO!!"

"Don't worry, Usagi." Taiki consoled. "I will help you with the preparation for the module papers. With me as your tutor, there's no way you will repeat a grade."

"I will tutor you too!" Seiya added keenly.

Usagi gazed back at them with huge watery-puppy eyes. "You two are the greatest!!"

"Regarding the two compulsory exams… There's one written and one practical." Robin interrupting her students' conversation said. "And for the practical, we will be testing and observing your psychic abilities by a new scheme called Psychical Battle Tournament.

"Battle Tournament?!" Usagi shrieked with excitement. "It sounds fun! Tell us more!"

"Basically, all tested students are supposed to form a group of seven. Your team will then take on the other teams in your class, and finally the winning team will be selected to represent their class for the school tournament which will take place by the end of this year."

"Sounds troublesome…" Seiya answered restlessly. "Why did the school have to come up with such a bothersome examination method?"

"The principal is really excited about it though…" Robin looking back at them explained. "This battle tournament helps us lecturers and examiners to note everyone's ability… Of course, the winning team gets power points along with an assurance that you won't have to repeat classes." She was referring to Usagi.

--

"_Power points are needed for one to advance his psychic abilities to the next level –achieving to an Advanced/Specialized/Elite. Points given to students are judged from their academic results, behaviours and achievements." – Story fact_

--

"The power points are not important… But for Odango's sake, we got to win then." Seiya said teasingly.

"That's mean!" Usagi gave Seiya a light punch by the arm.

"Is it possible if we go as a team of four?" Taiki facing Robin asked. "We need no others…"

"I know that the four Aces can handle the battle exam with ease…" Robin responded without hesitation. "But, that's the examination rule… Well, good luck in finding your other three mates."

"How encouraging…" Seiya obviously did not like the idea of having to team up with other unknown psychics. "We will have a harder time selecting than winning…"

"Let's host an audition!" Usagi suggested with excitement.

"NO!!" Her two companions jumped into objection instantly.

"It doesn't matter how you guys work it out. But make sure not to be late for my class tomorrow." Robin reminded.

"Hai… Hai…" Those were responds of reluctance.

The three students got off the limousine upon arriving to the 'Aces District', a three-storey tall, Victorian bungalow situated a mountain away from their academy. With their minds troubled with thoughts, they hesitantly uploaded their luggage and headed for the house.

--

* * *

--

"Hey… Hey… Look! It's that Succubus, Minako Aino…"

From a distance, a group of anonymous school girls was watching a mob of guys chasing after a blonde.

"Why is she in school at a time like this? The new semester and classes don't start till tomorrow..."

"Maybe she's here like us for tuition?"

"I hate that girl…" another girl added with irritation. "She looks cute mainly because she has the Succubus bloodline… That doesn't make her special… Yet all boys go crazy for her!"

--

"_In Western medieval legend, a Succubus is a demon who takes a form of a beautiful woman to seduce men in dreams or reality to have sexual intercourse. They draw energy from the men to sustain them, often until the point of exhaustion or death to victim." – Facts_

--

"Isn't she in the same class as the four Aces and even lives with them?"

"Yes… And it's rumoured that her boyfriend is one of the Aces…"

"No way!"

"DUH! She's a Succubus! What do you expect?! I won't be surprise if it's true!"

"That totally crushed my dream! I've always wanted my boyfriend to be one of the Aces!"

"Are you a Succubus? No! So, stop dreaming! I've been in the same class with the Aces for almost five years, but never once got the chance to talk to any of them... They take no interest in normal girls like us…"

"I can't stand her... she's always hanging around the Aces… As if she's so special… What a show-off!"

"Of course she gets to hang out with them… That's because, her Master is the specialized shaman, Yaten Kou! Well, there's no doubt the rumour might be true then, that her boyfriend is the Ace of Diamond."

"No way! A Master and a Minion together? That sounds so wrong! There's absolutely no future for them! The traditional Kou family is never going to allow that!"

"Of course, they won't allow it! It's forbidden! Gods know what will happen if the Kou family finds out about their relationship! There might be another war between the Kou family and the Aces, just like five years ago!"

"First was the rescue of the Nemesis... What's next? The rescue of the Succubus?"

"I tell you what shocking is… That Succubus is still a virgin! Obviously, her master did not use her even once."

"A virgin Succubus?! Oh god! What's the point of keeping a succubus when you don't use her to seduce your enemies?"

"That because he don't see her as a tool silly! Furthermore, I bet she will be selected by the Aces for the tournament examination."

"That's so unfair! Just because she has connection with them, she gets to be in their team?! I want to be selected!"

"DUH! Who don't?! You get to be in the same team as the Great Four Aces! But I don't think it will ever work out for that Succubus... A minion should just stay as a minion!"

"Yes… It will never work out for her..." A confident womanly voice emerged.

"Rei-sama!"

A girl with dark-violet hair that fell over her waist approached the group of displeased girls.

"You girls just wait and see… Not only will I be in the Aces team, I will have Yaten-san as my boyfriend… I am not giving him to Minako Aino!"

--

* * *

--

The perspiring blonde clumsily tripped over a stone step and fell roughly onto the grassy ground. She anxiously turned around as she tried backing a little. "Don't come near me…"

The group of pestering boys had gradually cornered her. "Minako-chan, we really love you…"

Their eyes seemed strange, with no other emotion except for blind sexual desperation. "I want to touch you…"

Minako saw them reaching out their hands to her and shrieked, "No! Don't come near me!"

Suddenly, a figure leaped itself into the air, landing between her and the stalking group. "Touch her and I shall haunt all of you to death."

Minako gasped in disbelief when she saw who it was.

"Yaten-sama…"

"You…You are one of the Aces! The Ace of Diamond! Yaten Kou!" The group anxiously back off. "We are sorry! Yaten-san!! Hey… Hey! Let's get out of here…"

Within seconds, the mob of boys was no longer seen. Yaten slowly turned around and gazed down at the shivering Minako. "You have been practicing your spell earlier haven't you?"

"I'm sorry…" Minako replied back softly. "Please don't get angry with me…"

Yaten letting out a sigh reached his hand out and aided her up. "Didn't I tell you not to practice your abilities? It's a good thing I came back early… Who knows what will happen if I didn't?"

"I'm sorry…" She apologized again. "I just want to become stronger… So, I can be of some help to you."

"I told you before… I am not a shaman who used a Succubus…" Yaten stated and raised his voice unintentionally. "Even if you become one stable and powerful Succubus, I won't be summoning you to have sexual intercourse with other men! So, stop all your reckless training. What if I wasn't around to protect you? You will get rape by all those perverted bastards!"

"I'm sorry… Yaten-sama… Please don't get mad…" Minako pleaded with tears in her eyes.

Weakened by the sight of her tears, Yaten wrapped his hands around her. "I'm not mad... Don't cry..."

_"I was worried sick!!"_ Yaten screamed in his head.

Minako nodded lightly as Yaten tenderly wiped her tears away. "Let me guess… You want to be in our team for the tournament, that's why you are training your skills, am I right?"

With her eyes still looking down, Minako gave him another slight nod. "I wanted to... at least be stabilized enough… So… that I can be in the same team as you…"

Yaten smiled before grabbing her hand into his and led her out of the school field. "Let's go…"

"Where are we going, Yaten-sama?" Minako asked in her usual soft tone.

"Back to the Aces District…" Yaten responded without turning around. "You are going to be part of our team…"

Then, he stopped abruptly and faced her with a smile.

"Not as my minion... but as our official team comrade."

--


	5. The Shaman Past & the Unwanted Visitors

--

**The Shaman Past and the Unwanted Visitors**

--

"Yaten, this is your minion, Minako Aino." An older woman presented her son his Succubus. "She is your tool on becoming a strong Necromancer, just like your father."

-

"_A Necromancer is an Elite-levelled Whisper, the next level of a Shaman. One who performs necromancy, a form of divination in which the practitioner seeks to summon 'operative spirits' or 'spirits of divination', for multiple reasons, from spiritual protection to wisdom. It is also associated with black magic and demon-summoning in general." – Facts_

-

The seven years old boy stared admiringly at the little blonde with sparkling blue eyes. _"She's so beautiful…"_ He didn't know the term 'Minion' or the word 'Succubus'. He excitedly took a step forward and offered the shy Minako a hand shake. "I am Yaten Kou, nice to meet you."

For a brief moment, all Minako could do was stare at his hand. When she finally figured out what Yaten wanted to do with it, she shyly placed hers in his. "Nice to meet you, Yaten-sama…"

"Mrs Kou, isn't your son being a little too friendly with the Succubus?" He heard an elder lady asked in a displeased accent. Little Yaten did not understand the woman annoyance towards his pleasant approach with Minako.

"It's alright." His mother responded. "He's still young. It's too early for him to learn about the real usage of his Succubus."

"_Usage?"_ What did she meant by that? His childlike brain was not able to catch the adult words and he didn't care. He passed his next two years joyfully. Everyday, he would get to see Minako and she was the reason for his contentment. To Yaten, she was his little angel. He adored her innocence and shyness and pretty much everything about her. She had naturally become his joy and meaning in life. But, his happiness did not last forever.

It was after his twelfth birthday that the cruel reality finally strikes him.

"Let me introduce you to your future spouse, this is Rei Hino."

Yaten stared in disbelief at his two parents and the young stranger before him. "Her father is a very well-respected high priest and allies with the Kou family. Our two families had agreed on your marriage with Rei. It will take place right after you turned twenty-one."

The young girl with dark-violet hair slipped her hands into Yaten's and smiled brightly. "You are so handsome! I like you!"

Yaten instantly backed away alarmingly. "No! No!" he yelled frantically at his parents. "I am not going to marry her! I am marrying Minako! Minako is going to be my future bride!"

-SMACK-

He felt his mother hand whipped against his cheek. Yaten clutched his scorned cheek and blood was seen dripping off his skin.

"What are you saying?!" he heard his mother fury scream. "Marrying a dirty Succubus! Do you want to bring disgrace to the family?! Don't you dare say such things again, you hear me?!"

His father was equally incensed as he dragged his young son out of the room. "Come with me!" his father ordered harshly. "I will show you what you should do with a Succubus! And the meaning of a Minion!"

It was a devastating and horrifying night. What Yaten witnessed had totally crushed his innocence and belief. "NO! Don't show me! I don't want to see!!" He was forced to watch the nasty scenes of nude Succubus draining away psychic prisoners life-energy by having sexual intercourse with them. After that horrible night, Yaten suffered from frequent nightmares and terrible visions of different Succubus, and sometime even his precious Minako lying naked beneath countless unknown men, drawing energy and sustaining them. He would wake up in thick sweats and shivers, only to cry himself back to sleep again.

His parents warned him that they would take Minako away if he was to get too friendly or comfortable with her. "You better keep this in mind son! She was born a minion and will forever stay as one! You are marrying Rei Hino whether you like it or not! We, the Kou family, are known to be psychic masters for generation because our marriage was fixed to be with the best! Not those we favour and definitely not with filthy and low Succubus! If you insist on your childish resistance, I will give your Succubus to someone else!"

"No! Please! I promise I will treat her like a minion… I will not love her or like her! Please… Don't take her away!" Yaten pleaded while holding back his tears. He can't have Minako with another priest, shaman or necromancer. They will definitely hurt and destroy her!

"Very well! You better not try or even think about rebelling against our wishes because no one can defy or go against the Kou family laws and decision." Yaten had kept their words securely in mind and deliberately distanced his relationship with Minako. It was only necessary for her to remain by his side. He was seen talking less to her and eventually he wasn't seen smiling anymore. The young Minako was feeling equally distress though she would always put on a smile around Yaten. She somehow understood the situation, the sad fact of impossibility to stand equally with her master.

"Did you know they are planning to execute the Nemesis, Seiya Kou?" Yaten while walking passed the garden courtyard overheard the maids' conversation.

"I heard about it… How cruel, he's only thirteen."

"Cruel? I think they are doing justice for our state… The Nemesis is too dangerous. He killed a couple of psychics before he was sent into isolation. And I heard his parents almost died under his scary powers too… Anyway, this is the end for the Nemesis. We will not hear anymore stories about him after next week."

"I agree…Because there's no way anyone is able to stop the Kou family and State government decision…"

Yaten emotionally went back to his room. _"Yes, what they said was true. No one can defy the Kou family. That boy, whoever he is… he can never escape the sentence because the Kou family wants him dead… It's just the same for me and Minako… We can never be together…"_ He tilled his head backwards an action to prevent his tears from falling.

"Whether it is his fate… or ours… No one can change it…"

--

* * *

--

"Yeah!" Usagi shouted happily. "Minako-chan is going to be part of us for the battle tournament! I'm so excited!"

Yaten smiled responsively at Usagi who was holding onto Minako hands thrillingly. He had just brought up his intention on wanting Minako as their official comrades for the coming examination.

"Do you think it's possible?" Yaten facing Seiya and Taiki questioned.

"I knew it from the start… You will definitely suggest her in…" Taiki responded while leaning back against the soft couch. "Leader, what do you think?"

"Don't look at me..." Seiya replied hesitantly. "You are the shadow king here… Since when do I get to make the decision?"

"Most of the time…" Taiki said bluntly. "You are just too lazy to do your job, that's why I got to do it for you…"

"So, it's really impossible?" Yaten repeated his question with a little grief.

Seiya let out a sigh. "Can I say no when Odango is happily dancing over there?" He pointed his thumb towards the two girls at the back corner of the living room. "Seriously, I don't mind her joining us but, you might get into some troubles. There's already plenty of annoying rumours going on and to announce her as our officials for the tournament will just make matters worse…"

"I understand…" Yaten said in a fade tone as he gazed down.

"But…"

Yaten responsively directed his focus back to his comrades. "We will back you up… We are the four main Aces remember? There's nothing impossible especially with her around…" Sensing her three friends peeping at her, Usagi hastily made a turn around and smiled cheerily back.

Still holding onto Minako's hand, she pulled her along as she skipped towards the seated boys. "What are you guys discussing about?"

"Nothing special. Mainly about you failing your written examination." Seiya teased.

Usagi with a pout threw a couch pillow playfully towards Seiya only to have it thrown back to her without even touching him.

"You are not supposed to use your PK energy! That's cheating!" She spoke aloud as she targeted more pillows onwards to the laughing Seiya. They flew swiftly back hitting her on the face.

"Oops! I'm sorry… Odango…" Seiya stuck his tongue out playfully.

"Seiya Kou!!" Usagi with an undefeated spirit continued tossing more pillows over till one accidentally smacked Taiki by his side face.

"Opps! Sorry… Taiki…" Usagi chuckled, sounding anything but sorry.

Taiki grabbing a nearby cushion stood up, "You think that's funny?" he spoke lightly and aimed it at the giggling blonde.

Another pillow was seen flying toward Taiki's back but he managed to seize it on time, "I have calculated this coming, Seiya…"

"How can you possibly miss, Seiya?!" Usagi shouted across while holding onto her laughter.

"Hello! We are pillow fighting with a genius here!" Seiya gave a quick respond while activating his PK power to prevent the several upcoming cushions from hitting him.

Yaten seeked the opportunity to slip away but three tracking pillows emerged from all directions, knocking him over. "Don't even think of escaping, Yaten!"

He reactively faced his three chuckling comrades, "Why? You…" Reaching for the nearest cushion, he joined in the pillow fights.

Minako stood at a safe distance with as she watched the wonderful expression on everyone's face, especially Yaten's. _"They changed him…"_

Her master will never smile like this back at his old home. It was after his encounter with Usagi and the formation of the Aces that brought such beautiful smile. She wanted him to remain like this forever. But, is it achievable?

Then, all of a sudden, she saw Yaten flying towards her. "Minako! Watch out!"

He embraced her and the couple landed on the soft ground. Minako gazed up blushingly at the pair of emerald eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked her with a little blush.

"Yes…" Minako nodded shyly.

With Minako still in his arms, Yaten carefully got back up, "Hey! No pillow touches Minako!"

Three sly giggling was heard before a load of cushions simultaneously flew towards Yaten, instantly burying him onto the ground.

"The Hero has fallen!" The three attackers spoke all at once.

"Yaten-sama… Are you alright?" Minako asked in concern while she tried digging him up from the mountain of pillows.

Climbing back up, Yaten held onto Minako's hand tightly, "Don't just stand there. We are going to counterattack!" He told her with a bright grin.

Minako nodded keenly, she liked her master's expression, that priceless smile.

"Oh! The Hero is back with his Maiden! Everyone charge forward!" Endless pillows were seen flying back and forth continuously, magical laughter and enchanting sounds were heard as the five kids enjoyably rampage the entire living room. It was truly a blast of joy and pleasure.

"I give up!" All of them dropped wearily onto the messy floor and laughed delightfully.

"That was so fun!" Usagi shouted with joy.

Both Yaten and Minako gazed pleasingly at the smiling Usagi, the first individual who showed them the glimpse of hope. They remembered their first encounter with her years back, the day she saved Minako from a group of bullies, the moment she grasped onto their hands insisting on becoming friends and the seconds she cheerfully gave them the response they desired so much.

Yes! Usagi was the one who indirectly showed Yaten the rights of being with the girl he loves, even if she's a Succubus. He was indeed grateful to be part of the Aces, his true comrades who will never judge him or his relationship with Minako. His life has never been happier ever since.

Suddenly, there was a loud bell chime.

"I will get it…" Taiki who was nearest to the front door stood up and reached for the handle. "Who is it?"

"Hello, Taiki-san!" a tall brunet man dressed formally in his academy uniform stood by the entrance. "It's been a long…"

-BANG-

Taiki without further hesitation slammed the door violently.

"Who was it?" Usagi asked casually.

"The President of the School Student Council, Mamoru Chiba." Taiki replied bluntly.

"Oh? Mamoru-chan?!" Usagi was having trouble getting up.

Seiya letting out a sigh gave her a hand. "Let me guess, he's either here to persuade us to join his student council or he's here for Odango…"

"BOTH!!" Mamoru was heard shouting aloud outside.

"What a persistent sonic sensor…" Taiki leaning against the door commented.

-

"_A Sonic Sensor is one who has the ability to detect reflective sound waves, whether generated by the character or ambient sound." – Story fact_

-

"Thank you…" Mamoru gave a loud reply.

"I am not praising you!" Taiki shouted back agitatedly.

"You know, it isn't that nice to leave your guest out in the cold…" Mamoru added.

"When will you ever give up?" Taiki opening the door asked restlessly.

"Not till the Aces join us." Mamoru conveniently took a step into the untidy living room flooded with cushions. "Wow! What happened here? Is this the new way to practice for the battle tournament? Using pillows?"

He quickly shifted his attention to the girl next to Seiya. "My precious Usa-chan! I've missed you!"

"Hold it!" Taiki pulling Mamoru firmly by his back collar stopped him from closing in to Usagi. "Do you want me to throw you back out again?"

"Hey! Mamoru-chan!" Usagi waved brightly over to Mamoru.

Mamoru gave Usagi a light wave before changing his focus to Seiya. "Seiya-san! Will you…"

"No!" Seiya interrupted sternly. "I am never taking over your position on becoming the next president of the school council… "

Mamoru gazed hopefully back at Taiki.

"Don't look at me… You should know the answer." Taiki replied frankly.

Mamoru let out a sigh of disappointment. "How can the two of you be so stubborn?"

"YOU ARE THE STUBBORN ONE HERE!" Both Taiki and Seiya snapped back together.

"You know I will be graduating this year. And you two are the best candidates for my position... So..." Mamoru persisted.

"NO! NO! NO!" It was a very direct answer from Taiki and Seiya.

Then there came another ring from the doorbell.

"What now?" Seiya going for the door opened it roughly, revealing a group of attractive-looking boys.

" WALALALA!! Seiya-kun! It's so…"

-BANG-

"Don't tell me…" Yaten asked with a delay.

"Yes…" Seiya added in irritation. "It's the annoying Tamaki Suou!"

Taiki placing his hand low over his bow let out a sigh. "First it was the President of the academy council and now the President of the school host club?"

"SEIYA-KUN, TAIKI-KUN, YATEN-CHAN!!" Heavy and rapid knockings were heard coming from the front door. "LET US IN! AND JOIN THE HOST CLUB!!"

Mamoru unexpectedly stormed front and opened it rashly. "Tamaki-san! The Aces are not joining your host club! They are joining MINE!"

"WE ARE NOT JOINING ANY OF YOU!" the three irritated boys shouted together from the inside.

"Let's settle this in the battle tournament shall we?" Mamoru suggested to Tamaki with a smirk.

"Very well, whoever wins shall have the Aces!" Tamaki agreed with a joyful laughter.

"DON'T TAKE US AS YOUR STAKES!!" The three boys shouted across edgily again.

"Jeez…" Seiya tiredly sat back down continued. "How many times must we reject you guys before you are willing to stop bugging us? And how did you know we are back?"

"Tsk… Tsk… Tsk… Seiya-kun." Tamaki entering the room responded lightly. "We can't let the Aces fan club outshine our host club… Oh my! What happened to your living room? Do you need us to clean it up for you? We will be happy to!" He deliberately bended down and pick up a soft cushion.

_(Agitated Seiya in the background __grumbled: He's not answering my question!!)_

"Don't ask… Don't touch…" Yaten ordered strictly.

"It's alright, Tama-chan. We will be tidying it up later." Usagi told Tamaki with a smile.

"The lovely Usagi-san! How nice to see you back again!"

Seiya promptly stood up blocking Tamaki path. "Yes… Yes… Will you kindly leave now? Your vice-president and MY vice-leader are about to start their usual mental challenge again. I don't want my house destroyed…" Seiya pointed his thumb to the entrance.

Truly, two tall men were seen giving off essence of black aura as they stood confidently at the door way, staring cunningly into each other's eyes.

"It's been quite a while Kyoya-san…" Taiki spoke with a grin.

"Same goes to you… Taiki-san…" Kyoya gave a simple response. Then, for an unknown reason, both of them were heard laughing evilly at the same time.

"The two shadow kings are so scary, Hikaru!" the handsome teen with light auburn hair hugged his twin brother comically.

"Kaoru... Don't be afraid, we have each other!" the twin embraced back.

"I'm scared too, Takashi!" a little boy with neat golden hair cried.

The tall, tanned and handsome man silently picked the crying boy up and presented him with a lollipop, instantaneously aiding his fear.

"Seriously, will all of you please leave?" Yaten was getting impatient. The living room was already in a mess and with the arrival of several unwanted guests just worsen the disorder.

"Yes… Yes…" Mamoru nodding in agreement spoke. "Tamaki-san, it's not very nice of you to be disturbing the Aces..."

"You too! Mamoru Chiba!" Yaten shrieked at him. "Host Club, Student Council or whatever! Leave! Leave! Leave! If not…" his voice turned cold and low. "All of you better watch your backs at night…"

Yaten's warning frenziedly sent electrical chills down their spines. "Ok! We will be going then! But that doesn't mean we are giving up… We will be backkkkk…"

Before Tamaki could finish his sentence, he and the rest of the intruders were thrown out of the house by an invisible force, followed by a fierce closing of the front door.

"Finally!" Yaten sighed as he fell wearily onto the nearby couch. "You should have done that earlier, Seiya."

Usagi giggled lightly as she and Minako began tidying up the living room.

Then, the bell rang the _third_ time.

There was a moment of displeasure silence.

"I am not answering it…" Both Taiki and Seiya simultaneously spoke.

"Che… What's with today? Visiting Day?" Yaten trying to calm himself down opened the door hastily.

A twin figure stood before him," MY DEAR YATEN-CHAN!!"

-BANG- (Big instant door slam)

"Damn it! This is getting ridiculous!" Yaten locking the door exclaimed in frustration.

"OPEN THE ROYAL DOOR FOR YOUR BELOVED BROTHER! YATEN-CHAN!" several loud banging was heard.

"Oh? It is Ayame-san…" Taiki concluded while he continued with the tidying.

The wild bangs were soon replaced by a gentle knock. "It's me, Hatori. Open up. I have some business to discuss with the four of you."

Yaten reluctantly unlocked the door.

Ayame dramatically flew in and hugged the annoyed Yaten, "How is my adorable brother doing? It's been AGES since we last met! Let's use this opportunity to strengthen our brotherhood!"

"We just met yesterday! And let me go!" Yaten yelled in aggravation. "Go find Yuki or something! Stop leeching onto me!"

"I'm sorry about bringing him here. He insisted on following…" Hatori was referring to Ayame. "And what…"

"Don't ask…" Taiki and Seiya seemingly to have read Hatori's mind stated together. It was obviously regarding the messiness of the room. "_Why does everyone have to ask the same question?"_

"Hey! Hatori-san, Ayame-san! What brings you here?" Usagi exiting from the kitchen while holding onto two pillows asked cheerily.

"It's nothing serious…" Hatori smiled gently.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Hatori-san. Please have a seat." Taiki finished tidying the couch offered politely.

"Thank you." Hatori gave his gratitude to Minako who had offered him some tea. "Well, I am here for a favour…"

"A favor?" Seiya with a bow up questioned.

"Yes… It's regarding the settlement of a new transfer student, you know him… He's Haruka Tenoh…"

"You want us to lend him a room till the renovation for the boys' residential apartment is complete?" Taiki made an assured guess.

"The Aces genius is undoubtedly sharp." Hatori replied with a slight smile. "It just for the month. I hope it's nothing troublesome."

"Cool! Haru-chan is moving in soon?!" Usagi exclaimed happily.

"Only for a month." Seiya and Taiki thinking alike spoke at once.

Seiya let out a sigh. "Fine. Since you personally came down and ask, it will be rude for us reject you, right?"

"Thank you for your help, Aces." Hatori showed his gratitude with a smile. "Well, we will be going then… Since, I am sure you got lots of preparation to do for the new semester." Hatori headed towards the exit conveniently dragged Ayame with him. "Let's go, Ayame…"

"NOOOOOOO!! LITTLE BROTHERRRRRRR!!" Ayame echoed with exaggerating tears.

Yaten gratefully slammed the door hard cutting off his brother cries.

"I am so tired…" He walked lifelessly and dropped dead onto the long futon.

"Yaten-sama, are you alright?" Minako asked in concern.

"I am fine… I just need some rest." Yaten replied with a sigh and the couple exchanged adoring smiles.

"It's getting late… I better start preparing for tonight's dinner." Seiya getting off his comfortable seat decided.

"Yeah! Dinner! I'm starving!" Usagi cheered. "Can I help you with the preparation, Seiya?"

"As long as you stay away from the knives…" Seiya told her with a smile as he slipped his hand into hers and led her to the kitchen.

"I will allow the both of you to enjoy some time together…" Taiki making his way up the stairs spoke. "I have some urgent rearrangement of notes to do."

"Don't ever come back down!" Seiya shouted pleasingly.

"Hm? You know I will be back down at the _right_ moment…" Taiki disappearing up the stairs slyly smirked.

--

* * *

--

The spacious living room eventually turned quiet as Yaten relaxingly closed his heavy eyes. _"Yes, peace at last…"_

Then, he felt a warm layer carefully placed on him. Opening his eyes reactively, he saw Minako tenderly resting a thick blanket over him. "Yaten-sama, you might catch a cold if you sleep here without a cover."

He dotingly took her hand and placed it against his cold cheek. "Your hand…It's so warm…" Yaten spoke dreamingly.

Minako was blushing intensely as she sat on the carpeted floor next to Yaten. She saw her master gradually closing his eyes while still holding onto her. She explicitly stared at him and realized that he had the most serene smile imprinted on his handsome face. How she hoped that time would stop for her, how she wished she wasn't a Succubus. If only she's wasn't his minion, they might be allowed to be together and openly hold each others hands. It indeed hurt Minako to see her master struggled to protect her. He had somehow cut ties with his parents and sees them as his enemies because of her.

In some way, Seiya and Usagi loving laughter from the kitchen lightened Minako's grief. Then, a mini-flashback struck her instantaneously.

-

-Flashback-

"_What are you drawing, Usagi-san?" Minako asked the thirteen years old Usagi. She gazed down at her poorly drawn human figures. It was a picture of three happy boys and two girls holding hands. _

"_This is Seiya, and Taiki, that's me here…" Usagi pointed out each individual in her drawing with anticipation. "And this is you and Yaten. It's our Aces family portrait!"_

"_I'm inside?" Minako asked sounding very surprised._

_Usagi nodded with a bright smile._

"_But I am a Succubus." _

"_Eh? What's wrong with that?" Usagi asked innocently. "You and Yaten sure say the same thing…"_

"_Yaten-sama?"_

_Usagi nodded again. "I really don't understand why everyone kept insisting it's wrong to be friendly with you… Because to me, Minako-chan you are so beautiful__, both inside and out!" _

"_Me? Beautiful?" Minako was taken aback by her remark. It was her first time being classified under such category. Because, a Succubus like her is anything but beautiful._

_Usagi __nodded quickly. "Yaten agrees with me too…"_

"_Yaten-sama did?" Minako could feel her cheeks burning. _

"_Hai! Yaten really likes you a lot…" Usagi continued with an assuring smile. "You like Yaten too right?"_

_Minako was dumbfoun__ded by her question. Her blush deepened but expression saddened. _

"_Am I allowed to like Yaten-sama?"_

"_Of course!" Usagi holding keenly onto Minako's hands exclaimed. "There's no rule stating that you can't! And if there's one…" her voice softened with seriousness. _

"_I will destroy it for you…" _

_Minako swore__ she saw Usagi's blue eyes darkened during that split second. Was it her imagination?_

_Usagi was seen __smiling brightly once more. "Neh! Minako-chan, will you help me with my drawing?"_

_Minako nodded __lightly and when the sketch was finally don,. Usagi jumped back up in._

"_Yeah! It's finished! I will show it to Seiya, Taiki and Yaten before hanging it up in my room!" She deliberately held her drawing high up in the air._

"_I will protect it… The Aces will forever be together!" _

-End of Flashback-

-

"_Forever…"_ Minako smiled slightly.

Every night before she sleeps, she prayed for Usagi's word to remain true. It was the formation of the four Aces that gave Yaten his long-wanted freedom. And as long as the Aces exist, she's allowed to stay by her master's side and witness his smiles.

She squeezed Yaten's hand lightly before resting her head on the empty spot next to him. Minako could feel her master's soft breathing brushing against her cheek as she peered at his peaceful face. For the first time, she felt an extreme ease. She lost her eyes in the end, letting them shut slowly.

A piercing chimed from the front doorbell woke the sleeping couple. They blinked and glanced at each other for a brief moment before Minako broke it by jumping back up embarrassingly. She silently yelled at herself for falling asleep right next to her master and ruining her composure.

"Gomen nasai(sorry), Yaten-sama! I-I will answer it…" She did a quick bow and headed for the door.

Yaten sat back up with a lighted smile, pleased to still feel Minako's warmth in his right hand.

"Who was it? Mina…" He was too stunned for words when he found the visitor standing by the doorsteps was none other than his future fiancé, Rei Hino.

"Rei-sama…" Minako greeted the brunette with a courteous bow.

"Why are you here?" Yaten asked, his tone and expression showing tremendous displeased.

Rei leisurely made her way into the spacious living room, "I am here to visit my future husband… Anything wrong with that?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about…" Yaten glancing away responded. "You are not welcome here, please leave."

"Don't be so cold, my dear Yaten…" Rei took a step closer and directed her hand out to him.

"Don't touch me…" Yaten promptly stepped back, distancing the gap with her. Rei eyes sharpened showing brief dissatisfaction. She was the first daughter of the state well-respected high priest, Seishi Hino. How dare he disregarded her and chose to be with a dirty Succubus? Her arrogant could never forgive or allow them to be together.

"It's true…"

Yaten turned towards the familiar voice and saw Taiki appearing from the stairs. "Not everyone is allowed to enter the Aces District without permission. You sure got some guts, Hino-san."

"Taiki Kou…" Rei mumbled his name under her voice. She didn't come here to start a war, that's for certain. She was not stupid or anything. With the Nemesis as their leader, the Aces are renowned to be the worse enemies one would ever want to make or face. They said: never wake the sleeping dragon. They are referring to Aces Genius, Taiki Kou. Rei knew very well that if angered, the Ace of Club can easily become the Spade.

"I'm just here to send a little message…" Rei targeted her eyes back to the disturbed Yaten. "It's regarding Aunt Kumiko's birthday. She wants you to attend the celebration tomorrow night…"

"Tell her that I won't be going…" Yaten quickly responded.

"As her son, you should. Besides, I am sure you won't want any unnecessary trouble to be brought up again right?"

Rei then bowed lightly to Taiki before leaving. "I apologize for intruding… I will be going now…"

As she headed for the exit she glanced angrily at the timid Minako.

"And…" Rei added bluntly.

"For tomorrow dinner, they want you to bring along the Succubus..."

-


	6. The Sunrise or the Sunset

**--**

**The Sunrise or the Sunset**

--

"Mummy! Mummy! Please bring me home! Don't leave me here…" a six-year old brunet was heard pleading his mother.

"Seiya…" the middle-aged woman gave her son a faint pat. "Mummy can't be taking care of you anymore." Her expression saddened. "I don't have the power to. Be a good boy and stay here alright? I promise I will come visiting soon."

"No… No! Why mummy? Why?" Seiya desperately grasped his mother's hand but she deliberately flung him off.

"I'm sorry, Seiya…"

"Mummy! Noooooo!! Don't leave me here!!"

The door shut with a loud bang. The little boy was left alone, all alone in the plain dim room. "Why? Why did you abandon me? Why mummy?"

Days, weeks, months and years passed. Other than the guards who delivered his necessities, no one came for him. No one dared or cared to. The boy was left in complete isolation.

There were voices, many voices surrounding him.

"You are a MONSTER!! A dangerous child!!"

"No! No! I am not… I am not" Seiya covering his ears cried.

"Yes! Yes you are! That's why no one wants you! Not even your mother! No one!"

"That's not true! That's not true!" Seiya persisted in tears.

"It's true! Everyone is afraid of you! Because you are dangerous! You murderer!"

"I'm not… I'm not! Stop saying that! Stop saying that!" He shut his eyes hard. He did not want to hear anymore voices. Please no more!

"Yes! You are! You will be alone, you are meant to be alone! No one will love you! No one wants you! You are better off dead!"

"No… It's not… true… not… true…" He didn't wish to believe them. He hoped, he prayed, that one day someone would come and bring him out of this cold lonely room. But soon, he got tired of waiting, got sick of believing that the person will appear. Maybe he or she does not exist, maybe it's true…

He was not wanted by anyone, not accepted by the world.

No one will specially smile for him or call him by his real name.

No love, no care. There is nothing…

His future was black, empty.

"Yes… I am a Nemesis. A monster everyone avoid. No one will ever want me... No one…"

Then, a cheerily voice was heard, a bright smile was seen, and a small hand reached forth to him.

"Hi! My name is Usagi Tsukino! Will you be my friend?"

--

Opening his eyes, Seiya stared dreamingly at the creamy-white ceiling. The same dream woke him. He made a quick glance at his alarm, it was only 5am. It was too early since his class doesn't start till eight. He tossed to his side, hoping to catch another hour of sleep but couldn't. It was that unpleasant feeling again, the combination of insecurity, fright and disbelief. His sad childhood memory was his life curse, a consistent haunt.

"Maybe I should start preparing breakfast."

He gradually got out of bed, slipped into his soft slippers and exited his room. He aimlessly made his way through the long corridor, walking passed Taiki's room and Minako's before stopping at the third door. He reached for the doorknob and gave it a gentle twist.

It was unlocked!

The door opened slowly and soundlessly. A faint orangey table lamp light enabled his vision. The room has soft pink walls, lacy white curtains for its life-sized window and several cute cuddly toys at its extreme right corner.

Closing the door quietly, Seiya approached the queen-sized bed. He smiled adoringly at the sleeping beauty. Her soft, pleasant breathing soothed his discomfort as he impulsively bended over and kissed her on the lips, but quickly withdrew himself fearing that he might wake her.

"_What am I thinking? This is not a fairytale, a kiss won't wake her."_ He quietly laughed at himself.

But, for once, he was wrong.

The sleeping beauty steadily lifted her eyelids as she gazed affectionately back at the charming prince, just like the romantic fairytale.

"Seiya?" She blinked at him.

"Odango…?" His hesitation was interrupted by her abrupt panic.

"AHHHHHHH!! Am I late?! Am I late for school again?!" She shot up from her resting position and grasped onto Seiya's arms anxiously. "What's our first period? Is it Archaeology class? Oh No! Robin-chan is so going to kill me!!"

Her unexpected reaction had Seiya laughing hilariously. _"Oh god! She's so cute…"_

Usagi stared confusingly at the chuckling Seiya and frowned, "What's so funny?"

"No-no… I'm sorry…" He was trying to control his laughter. "You are not late… It's only 5:15am… I'm sorry for startling you… But your reaction is so funny…!"

No doubt, she was his joy and happiness. He had never laughed this hard before, till she came into his life.

Usagi pouted. Gripping onto her headrest she dealt several light blows at him.

"You meanie! You scared me! I thought I was late again! Humph! And it isn't funny!!" she shrieked at him.

"Sorry, Sorry…" Seiya having a difficult time calming himself down continued. "It's just that… It's usually hard waking you up for school… So, I didn't expect you to wake up from a Ki… "

"From a what?" Usagi stopping her rampage questioned suspiciously.

"No…Nothing… I didn't say anything…" he embarrassingly turned away from her glare.

"No! No! You did! Tell me! Tell me!" she persisted while resuming her assault.

"I think I should start preparing breakfast…" Seiya switched his topic, turning around and trying to escape from her questioning.

But Usagi reached out her hand on time, pulling him back and pinning him flat onto the soft bed. She climbed on top of him with a mischievous grin spread across her face.

"You are not escaping! I know you are hiding something from me! Tell me! Tell me!" Usagi insisted.

Her long untie hair curtained his sides' views, limiting his sight to her shimmering blue eyes.

"Nope! I am not telling you!" He childishly tilled his head away.

"You sureeeee?" Usagi adding a little evilness in her tone warned. "Guess who know all your weaknesses? ME!!"

She deliberately moved her hands down to his the sides of his waist and began tickling him. Seiya reacted with uncontrollable chuckling and slight struggling for he did not want to hurt the princess situated on top of him.

"Hey… Hey…Stop… Stop it!"

"Not till you tell me!" She playfully continued her attack on Seiya.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you already!"

Usagi reluctantly paused and leaned closer down toward him in anticipation. "What is it? What is it?"

Immediately after, she felt his soft lips touching hers lightly.

Seiya dropped back down, his face reddened.

That was his answer.

Usagi blinked at the kiss, unable to react, and for several long seconds, the room was covered with awkward silence.

Seiya had his vision away from Usagi's stare the entire while and when he finally found the courage to look back up…

He saw her warm smile.

Then, there came the flashback, the voice that had been hunting him for years.

"_You are not wanted! You will never be loved! Everyone is afraid of you! No one will specially smile for you!"_

No, it was not true. At that brief moment, she was smiling for him. Her sweet smile and gaze are dedicated to him.

Yes! She was always there for him.

But why?

What made her willing to smile for an abandoned child like him? Why did she even risk saving him back then when no one dared or cared to? No matter how many times or whoever questioned, her reply remained the same:

"_Because, I want to see the sunrise with Seiya everyday."_

Indeed, her simple answer knocked everyone speechless.

Seiya watched as she slowly moved closer down, touching his lips softly with hers. The kiss never went further then a touch, but it was enough to make Seiya feel warm all over.

They stayed at that lovely posture for a few short seconds before Usagi abruptly pulled herself away from him with excitement.

"Seiya! Seiya! It's about time! Let's see the sunrise! Let's see it together!" Usagi urged, pulling the astonished Seiya up and dragging him to the roof balcony.

The top roof garden was cooling as the bleached black sky magically broke from it twilight. The golden sun was seen majestically moving across the sky, brightening the heaven with its scattered sunlight causing a blue flash. Whenever they watched it together, the first light never failed to mesmerize them. It was like the miracle of a brand new day.

"Wowwwwwww!! It's so beautiful!" Usagi clapping her hands happily cheered.

"Yes." Seiya gazing back at Usagi continued with a tender smile. "Just like you…"

Usagi blushed a little before shaking her head lightly. "No… It suits you more."

Seiya was taken aback by her comment. "Me?"

She nodded keenly, "The sunrise always reminds me of your smile!"

She smiled and twirled joyfully around him, "I love the sunrise, Seiya! I love the sunrise!"

--

* * *

--

"Hi, I am Haruka Tenoh. Nice to meet you." Haruka proceeded with a hand shake.

"I am the class representative, Gurio Umino." A nerdy boy in eyeglasses introduced. "I was asked to take you to our class."

"That's very nice of you, Umino-san." Haruka added politely.

"It's only my job." Gurio said uncaringly. "You are from the outside state aren't you? Your first day here?"

"Yes." Haruka answered with a fake smile. _"Can you just bring me to my class already?"_

"I heard you are a beginner sensor, furthermore a precognition type." Gurio leading Haruka through the walkway of classrooms spoke. "Let me give you my personal advice. For a novice like you, it's best to listen and follow us, the 'seniors'. If not, you might have a tough time in this academy."

"Thanks for the advice, Senpai (Senior)." He replied sarcastically. _"Can't he just shut up?"_

"Yes. And especially the Four Aces…" he carried on.

"The Aces…" Haruka hitched. _"He's referring to Usagi-san and the rest…"_

"Yes. Though the Aces are all first graders, unlike us, they are highly levelled psychics. Their abilities are exceptionally powerful, and not everyone is given the privileges to have connection with them. Since, I am the class representative it's my responsibility to let you know more about this infamous team…

The Ace of Diamond, Yaten Kou, he's the team specialised whisperer, a shaman. With his father being the country most influential Necromancer, Yaten-san future is undoubtedly promising. At the age of nine, he incredibly memorized the entire 'Law of the Conjuration' principle and by fourteen, he was able to perform high-levelled rituals without any hindrance. By far, he's the academy most outstanding shaman.

The Ace of Club, Taiki Kou, he's the team's brain, also known as the Aces' Shadow King. This vice-leader is a world renowned genius, with a scary degree of superhuman intelligent; current IQ 310. No wonder he holds numerous world records. The national even awarded him with the title, the Genius among Geniuses. His intelligence power is that extreme till at times he could even analysis people thoughts and future and that's one reason why the Aces never needed a sensor or telepathist. In the future, he might become the country next president since no one has yet beaten his intelligence level.

Do you know why the Aces are one worse enemy? It's mainly because of their leader, the Ace of Spade, Seiya Kou, also known as the Nemesis. He's history strongest PK-user, a 'beyond-elite' levelled psychic, which is classified under the category: Unique. Unique-levelled psychic is associated with the word, 'Dangerous', though there are very few in the country. Namely, the president of our state, the principal of our academy, Satan leader, the Grim Reaper… All of them are unique-levelled psychics… and there's one more… The Ace of Heart, Usagi Tsukino.

They say: "Stab the Heart, end the Aces." She's the founder of the team. Her power remains a mystery but many claimed she's a unique-levelled psychic. Usagi-san is a very pretty girl, always putting on a smile but she's the last person you would ever want to mess with. It's alright when she's smiling, but if she's not… that's when the real terror begins… Just like five years ago, she proved her frightening existence by going against the entire state just to save the Nemesis…

"Are you still listening to me?" Gurio asked the quiet Haruka.

"Yes… Yes… of course." Haruka replied with a fake smile. _"That's my fifth lecture on the Aces… Man! He sure talks a lot…"_

After several minutes, they finally reached the classroom filled with screaming girls. "ACES!! ACES!! WELCOME BACK!!"

"That's the Aces over there." Gurio pointing at the corner of excitement stated.

"Thank you." He courteously showed his gratitude as he stared at the familiar scene. _"No matter where they go, they never fail to grab attention…"_

"Hey…" Yaten spoke out agitatedly. "You girls are so noisy… Just leave us alone will you?"

Minako had her head face down the entire time, as she could feel piercing stare of hatred all targeted at her.

"Class is starting soon." Taiki added calmly. "All of you should start getting back to your seat, if you know what's good for you."

It was not an advice but a warning. Everyone instantly turned quiet and reluctantly dispersed back to their seat.

Shortly after, Usagi stood up and waved ecstatically towards the class entrance. "Hey! Haru-chan! Over Here! Over Here!"

All eyes were on Haruka as he waved lightly back. Gurio stared shockingly at his new classmate, his mouth hung wide opened, speechless.

"Thank you for the tour and details, Senpai…" Haruka glanced over his shoulder at the Gurio and smirked. " No one inform you? I am with the Aces... "

--

* * *

--

Surprisingly, Haruka had great interest in Archaeology as he dedicated his full attention to Robin's lecturing. He did not notice the continuous glance from his female classmates nor was he aware of the pestering whispers.

"Gosh! He's really good-looking…"

"What's his name again?"

"He's with the Aces?! Who is he?"

Usagi was trying her best to stay awake. She had absolutely no clue on what was being taught. Her textbook was at the wrong page, and her eyes were half-closed.

"Odango…" Seiya placed his right hand lightly over her shoulder.

"Usagi…" Taiki deliberately took her book and flipped it to the correct page.

"I'm bored… I'm tired… I'm sleepy…" Usagi complained with her adorable puppy eyes.

Seiya and Taiki both let out a sigh. If this continued, they strongly believed that she might repeat a grade.

"Usagi-chan…" Robin called out. "Will you please explain to the class the monument of the Stonehenge?"

"Eh?!" Usagi exclaimed in surprise and glanced over to Taiki. "What's a Stonehenge?"

Robin giggled under her breath as Taiki with a sigh suggested, "Don't worry Robin-san, I will give Usagi a full tutorial on the topic you taught today…"

"That will save my time. Thank you, Taiki." She smiled and continued with her lesson.

"I'm sorry, Taiki." Usagi sobbed an apology.

"No problem." He gave her a gentle smile. "Archaeology is my best subject."

"All subjects are your best, Taiki." Seiya reminded. "You can get perfect score even without attending classes. Why do you even bother coming?"

"That's because I get to sit next to Usagi." Taiki answered frankly.

"_Damn that genius!!"_ Seiya mumbled in his head before knocking on Usagi's desk. "Wake up! Odango!".

The following few classes passed by rather slowly for Usagi. Seiya was constantly seen trying to bring Usagi attention back, while Taiki would patiently repeat and explain the mentioned subject to her. And by the end of the day, Usagi had all the girls secretly envying her.

"I hate lectures…" Usagi commented wretchedly.

"You repeated that quote for the twenty-sixth times today, Usagi." Taiki told her with a smile.

"Oh? Why?" Haruka packing his bag asked. "I do find the modules pretty interesting…"

"Eh?! They are not! I hate lectures! It's boring!" Usagi persisted.

"Twenty-seventh time." Taiki counted.

"Seiya! Seiya! I want to go home! I want to go home!" Usagi rapidly swung Seiya's hands like a spoilt child.

"You still have to complete your notes before you can leave, Odango…" Seiya told her lightly.

"This is such a torture!" Usagi shrieked.

"Sorry, Usagi. Minako and I will not be able to accompany you through…" Yaten said apologetically.

"It's ok, Yaten!" Usagi smiled. "You are attending your family dinner tonight?"

"Sort of…" Yaten replied in a rather unpleased tone. "But, we will be back for dinner. So don't forget our shares, Seiya."

"You are not dining there?" Taiki questioned on purpose.

"Can you not ask things you already knew, Taiki?" Yaten sighed. "You are very clear of my intention for going there, aren't you? Besides, my appetite never fails to die on me whenever I see their faces…"

"Hai… Hai… I will cook your share. But make sure you return by eight, or I will not hesitate to go over and bring you back." Seiya said bluntly.

"Thanks." Yaten patted Seiya's shoulder before exiting the classroom with Minako.

"You should get going too, Seiya." Taiki urged with a smirk. "I'm sure you have a pretty tight schedule today, with the dinner preparation and showing our new roommate around the house. Don't worry. Usagi will be just fine with me."

"Thanks for the thoughtful reminder, Taiki." Seiya replied sarcastically. "I hope you don't try anything funny besides tutoring…"

"Me? I will never…" Taiki continued with a mysterious grin. "Unlike someone, I'm no pervert who will sneak into her room in the morning and steal a kiss, right?"

"Right... I wonder who that could be." Seiya was gnashing his teeth secretly._ "What a dangerous fellow, he knows everything!"_

"Yes. I wonder who he might be too." Taiki played along.

Then, both of them were heard laughing forcefully.

"Is their relationship good or bad?" Haruka nudging Usagi whispered.

"This is a sign of an intimate relationship!" Usagi replied with a nod.

Both Seiya and Taiki turned speechless at Usagi's remark, not understanding why she would even consider their relationship to be a good one when they were always fighting over her affection.

"Haruka-san, let's get going…" Seiya deciding to break the silence, urged.

Turning over to Usagi, he gave her a quick pat of encouragement, "Odango, be a good girl and finish your work fast alright?"

"Hai!" Usagi nodded happily.

Seiya dropped his smile as soon as his eyes left Usagi's and met Taiki's. Glaring at him for the last time, he sent the genius a death warning before leaving the classroom.

--

An hour passed but Usagi was still far from completion.

"Eh?! There are still so much more?!" She glanced depressingly at Taiki's written lecture notes.

Taiki giggled at her troubled look, "Not really. If you take this away and shorten this here…"

Using his pen, he patiently explained and pointed out every topic area to the attentive Usagi. She was seen nodding like a robot each time Taiki gave an explanation.

"Oh! I get it now!" Usagi keenly wrote down the answer. "It's not that hard!"

"I told you it wasn't. It's pretty simple, isn't it?" Taiki smiled delightedly.

Usagi shook her head, "It's not simple. It's because you taught well..."

"Just admit you didn't make any effort to listen to the lecturers earlier…"

"No! I tried! But my eyelids kept falling down…" Usagi opposed.

"So, why aren't you feeling sleepy when I'm teaching you?" Taiki asked with intent.

"That's because Taiki is the most interesting teacher ever… and the best one too!" She answered with a big smile.

"But, I have no intention on becoming a teacher." Taiki chuckled.

"Eh?! But you make the best, best, best teacher… and doctor too!" Usagi exclaimed. "I remembered once when I suffered from a real high fever, and you got so worked out in treating me till you eventually fell ill after I recovered."

"Yes, Yes… and you cried so terribly that everyone thought I've actually died or something…" Taiki recalling the past incident, giggled.

"It was because of me that you got ill!" Usagi replied eagerly. "You can't blame me for feeling sad and crying…"

"But, do you know that those few days were my happiest?" Taiki smiling to himself, asked.

"Eh? Why? How could you be happy when you were actually sick?" Usagi asked in disbelief.

"That's because an angel was there by my side the entire time…" Taiki responded with a gentle grin.

"Eh?! You saw an angel?!" Usagi asked in astonishment. "Really?! Really?! How did she look like?"

"She's very beautiful. With long golden hair and sky-blue eyes… a very angelic face and serene voice…" Taiki explained briefly.

"Wooooowwww!" Usagi was in her world of imagination.

Taiki laughed quietly at the daydreaming blonde.

"_The angel was you, silly."_

His mind began to flash back to the time when she earnestly took care of him during the day and held his hand to ease his sleep during the nights. Back then, she was just like an angel. He wished for his fever to stay forever, so that she would as well…

Usagi suddenly jumped up from her seat and grabbed onto Taiki's hand, interrupting his train of thoughts.

"Let's go!"

For a second, Taiki just stared confusingly at Usagi, not getting her intention.

Then it hit him.

Dusk was approaching.

Soon, he found himself standing at the academy roof, the same place where they first met.

"It's been a long time since we last stood here…" Taiki enjoying the breeze, muttered.

Usagi nodded with a smile, "But it hadn't change a bit, had it? The view is still as magnificent."

"Ya…" Taiki agreed as he watched the orangey sun descending along the horizon.

"I remembered the very first time we watched the sunset together... you actually thought that jumping off the building was fun." Usagi teased.

"I didn't think it was fun, I was just being stupid…" Taiki admitted.

Usagi cheered loudly, "You finally admit it! You finally admit it! But, don't worry, I promised to keep this a secret for you… Shhhhhh… no one will ever know…"

"I don't mind if you spread it out, really…"

Usagi shook her head and placed her index finger on her lips, "Nope…This will be our little secret."

Taiki gazed back at her with a little blush.

Being with her, he felt like a normal person, not a genius or someone superior but an ordinary yet happy guy. She was the one who indirectly showed him his imperfection; that even a genius like him can make or do stupid mistakes.

Yes, she was his angel.

But, will this angel of his stay by his side and watch the sunset with him tomorrow? Will she still be there for him in the future? The genius had finally found questions he couldn't answer. It was true, she had always been a mystery to him and that was one reason why he was attracted to her.

"Usagi…" He called her in a soft voice. "I've something to ask you."

"What is it?" Usagi asked back with a light smile.

"Do you prefer the sunrise or the sunset?" Taiki asked briefly, knowing her answer already.

"I like them both as much!" Usagi replied without any hesitation. "Hmmmm…Whenever I see the sunrise, it makes me feel really happy while the sunset... it calms my heart…"

"_You do like the sunrise more…"_ Taiki laughed in his thoughts.

It was made clear from the start that she favoured Seiya more. Why did he even bother asking when he already knew the answer beforehand?

Why?

Because he was hoping for an unpredicted reply…

"Neh… Taiki…"

Usagi facing the brightly colour sky added. "Whether it's the sunrise or sunset, they are both essential to me. You can't possibility compare them, because they have their own individual beauty…"

She turned around and faced him with a big smile. "I'm really happy! Because whenever there is a sunrise, I will definitely get to see the sunset later!"

Taiki blinked at her remark for a second before a smile broke loose from his startled expression.

Yes, he was waiting for this.

A response whereby he couldn't foresee.

He took a small step forward, reached out his hand and affectionately ran his fingers over her golden-crowned hair.

"Maybe one day…" Taiki tenderly placed the golden strands against his lips. "You will smile brightly for the sunset as well…"

Usagi gazed quietly at him without replying a word.

Then shortly, against the hues of the setting red…

Her lips were seen curving into a beautiful smile.

--

* * *

--

"Don't worry. I'm not letting anyone touch you." Yaten squeezed Minako's hand lightly as he led her through the row of whispering crowds.

Whispers:

"It's him… Yaten Kou, Hayoku-sama's son…"

"The rumour is true then… he has an intimate relationship with his Succubus…"

"Just look at them… What a disgrace…"

"Shhh… not so loud… he's with the Aces…"

"So? I am not afraid of a group of monsters…"

Yaten stopped his steps upon hearing the last remark, "Try saying that again and I'll make sure you'll suffer the worse nightmare!"

His fierce glare had the man in a dull-blue kimono moving a step back.

"What's with all the commotion?!" a loud recognized voice was heard. Yaten tightened his hold against Minako's hand as he turned his attention toward the distance. The pathway of crowd was seen dispersing to make way for a tall middle-aged man and his wife, on their left stood a well-dressed Rei.

"Good evening, Hayoku-sama, Kumiko-sama" The crowd greeted and bowed respectfully before the couple.

"Yaten!" his father's heartlessly called out. "Come here!"

Minako timidly hid behind her master. Hayoku's fierce voice never failed to send shiver down her spine. Yaten did not move as commanded. He was not a coward anymore since being with the Aces gave him the courage to stand for his rights and face his fears which were his parents.

"Can't you hear your father, Yaten?!" Kumiko's voice was almost a shout. "He ordered you to come!"

"I am not entering the house." Yaten choked out trying to hide his anger as he continued standing in the open ground.

"What are you saying?!" His mother screamed across. "This is your home!"

"I've never once see this place as my home!" Yaten honestly burst out.

The crowd began to chatter softly among themselves,

"What a defiance kid…"

"Ya… ya… What ignorance…"

"QUIET!" Hayoku harsh order instantly tune off the noise. "Yaten! I don't want this disrespect! Come in here at once!"

His father stern command did scare Yaten a little but he wasn't giving in just yet.

"Np! I am never returning into this prison!"

"You shouldn't let your parents wait. Come!" Rei running into the open tried grabbing onto his hand.

"Don't touch me." Yaten flung her away coldly.

"Yaten, don't be rude to your fiancé!" Kumiko shouted displeasingly.

"She's not my fiancée!" Yaten objected determinedly.

"What nonsense!" Hayoku yelled. "What makes you think you have the rights to oppose against our arrangement?!"

"I have every right! This is MY life! You can't plan everything for me!" Yaten yelled back.

"Stop your defiance! You are our son! You listen to our order!" Hayoku shouted.

"If you still insist on planning this sickening engagement, I am leaving this family! I am cutting ties with you!" Yaten bravely sent out his main reason for attending the dinner ceremony. He did not want to run away from them anymore. Since young, he was nothing but a life-puppet with no freedom or a say in anything. But, he was not giving them anymore chance to take control over his love life and future…

"You are here tonight to tell us this?!" the enraged Hayoku took a foot forward and steadily headed into the open. "You have grown, son! But your growth is filled with stupidity!"

Yaten gripping firmly onto Minako's hand tried backing away from his approaching father, but they were immediately stopped by a guard of anonymous adults and were soon surrounded.

"Stay behind me." Yaten whispered protectively to Minako as she obediently concealed herself behind him.

"I know the Aces are bad influences, but I didn't expect you to consume so much of their foolishness!" Hayoku stared heartlessly down at his son.

"Don't insult my friends!" Yaten boldly shouted.

What do they know? His fellow friends are the greatest gifts from god! They taught him happiness, they care for him and gave him courage. But to the adults, the Aces are nothing but a group of demon-children. Nonetheless, they feared them which was the reason why his parents did not protest against his initial intimation with the Aces, they didn't dare to.

"Friends? Don't make me laugh!" The adults bounding Yaten began laughing sarcastically. "They are a group of outcast! Monsters like them are no friends…"

Yaten clutched his fist in rage, "SHUT UP! No one insult them!"

He wanted very much to stop all the cruel laughter, but he's a shaman with limitation. Furthermore, his father being a necromancer could easily beat his ability of conjuration.

--

"_Conjuration is the key power of shaman, priest and necromancer. The ability to summon and control the dead, ghost, spirit, demon possession and black magic." – Story fact._

--

Hayoku shifted his attention to the Succubus hiding behind his son. "You want to protect her?"

Yaten saw his father lifting his finger, he understood that action too well and immediately embraced Minako with all his strength, covering her eyes at the same time. "Minako, don't look!"

"It's no use, son."

Minako abruptly turned stiff and with a soulless expression she forcefully struggled to break free from her master tight enfold. Yaten knew she was under his father control, but he could not break the necromancer spell. As her master, he did not make any attempt to use her thus lacking the power to stop the mind-controlling spell instantly.

"_Unseal! Unseal! Unseal!"_ He was screaming the disabling chant rapidly in his head as he hugged the aggressive Minako as tight as he could.

"I told you before didn't I?" Hayoku said. "That I will take your Succubus away if you defy me…"

"Listen to your father, Yaten…" His mother added. "Accept your engagement with Rei. Do not rebel against our wishes…"

Rei was hiding her grin of pleasure, _"Serve them right. He's definitely mine now…"_

"Never! I am not your puppet!" Yaten exclaimed aloud. Minako's resistance was physically hurting him but he would rather die than let her go. He was certain if he was to releases her there and then, he will never get to see her again…

Everyone around him was laughing and humiliating them with sadistic pleasure.

"You can't win me son." Hayoku violently grabbed Yaten by his arms as he tried to separate him from Minako. "This will be your punishment…"

"I'm taking your Succubus!"

--


	7. Declare of the Seventh Member

**Declare of the Seventh Member **

**--**

"I am not letting you!" Yaten with all his available strength broke loose from his father strong grasp while still managing to hold onto Minako.

"You are not going anywhere, son!" Hayoku exclaimed loudly.

Immediately after his proclaim, rapid thunderous banging was heard from the courtyard's closed entrance.

The massive noise had all attention drawn towards the huge double-sided door. With a final fierce knock, the heavy locked access flung opened aggressively with one of the side door falling apart. Then, two young men with low ponytails confidently placed a foot into the crowded open-area.

"Great job, Seiya. You destroyed the grand entrance." Taiki noting the bad condition of the thick wooden door exclaimed in an unbothered tone.

"I tried being gentle at first..." Seiya explained sounding equally uncaring. "Blame them for locking it…"

Silence buried the crowd as they stared frightfully at the intruders who had just ravaged the huge entry.

"It's the Aces of Spade and Club! The Nemesis… he tore down the gigantic door…" Panicking whispering was everywhere.

"Pardon us for the intrusion and for damaging your domain entrance…" Taiki started with a forceful smile. "We are here to pick Yaten back."

"Seiya… Taiki…" Yaten called under his breath in disbelief.

"Yaten-sama?" Minako murmured out softly. Her master stared surprisingly back at her before realizing that his father conjuration phase was over. He gratefully embraced the blushing Minako as he muttered. "You are back… You are back…"

"Let's get going love birds!"

The mass dispersed making a walkway for Seiya as he approached the couple. "I thought I told you to be back for dinner by eight? You are half an hour late… Do you know how bad the foods will taste when they turn cold?

"And don't forget it's your chores tonight to wash-up the dishes." Taiki leaning against the ruined entrance reminded. He enjoyed the looks on everyone's face; scared, uncertain and disbelief.

When Taiki was much younger, he was like a living god to them, the superior genius who got praise in whatever he did. Since when did all these adults including his parents began fearing him and noting him as a demon? Was it after the formation of the Aces or did it started way back?

In powerful family such as the Kou's, if a child possessed strong ability, they 'imprisoned' him and made use of his power. And yes, Taiki used to be one of the family's 'brain' tools, like Yaten and Seiya, he had no freedom or meaning in life. When did this situation change? Who saved them and why?

An angel did; a golden beautiful miracle. But he never did understand the reason and maybe never will for she's always smiling happily as if the world was her playground.

Taiki smiled at the thought of Usagi's cheerily expression. _"What a mysterious miracle..."_

"The Nemesis…" Hayoku spoke in his usual deep tone. "I may have allowed my son to follow you years back but not now. He's staying here!"

"Oh? Is this a request or a demand?" Seiya pulled Yaten along with Minako back as he took a step forward. "Whatever! I decline his reside here."

The crowd was heard whispering among themselves again.

"Just because you are the State most feared psychic, this doesn't mean you can show your arrogance in front of us, Nemesis…" Yaten's mother screamed. "We are his parents and we have the right to make him stay!"

"No, you don't!" Yaten burst out was instantaneously stopped by Seiya's next speech. "Yaten belongs to the Aces, and I am his leader. He's coming back with us whether you like it or not, Aunt Kumiko."

"You little brat!" Kumiko losing her temper yelled. "He's our son! He's under the Kou's custody! The Aces have no right to take him away!"

"We have every right to, Aunt Kimiko." Taiki unexpectedly spoke from the distance. "Do you not remember years back when the government made an approval to the Aces derivation? Like the Kou heritage, we are also official family lines in the state. Your son, Yaten, being one of the main Aces, is to follow our leader's command."

"It's like what the genius said." Seiya sounded impatient. "Let's go Yaten."

"Hold on." Hayoku stopped them. "It's true that he's officially under the Aces supervision, but that doesn't mean we do not have a say here, as long as we didn't sign the partition permit, our son is still part of the Kou's family custody…"

Seiya sighed, "Yaten, why didn't you force them to sign the permit?"

"How am I supposed to force my parents to sign it?" Yaten exclaimed agitatedly. "I am not you!"

"I didn't force them…" Seiya responded in a carefree manner. "They voluntarily did."

"I threatened mine…" Taiki added with an evil grin added.

Everyone turned speechless for a second out of disbelief.

"_What dangerous fellows."_

"Aces… This time…" Hayoku breaking the silence, continued. "We are the ones taking control, not you."

"I don't think so..." Taiki argued, making his way through the crowd. "You've missed out a very important factor here, Uncle Hayoku. In the legal paper and authorities view, the Aces stand as one. It states besides our leader, no one is given any right to prescript or to supervise us, and that include the Kou's family."

Taiki's eyes of confidence were seen glaring deeply into Hayoku's displeasing ones.

"Uncle Hayoku, I am sure a smart man like you won't go breaking the state's law right?" The genius finished off with a casual grin.

"HAHAHAHAHA!!" Hayoku laughed out loud. "Indeed… Indeed. Taiki Kou, you are indeed mind-blowing. No wonder the Aces has such great influence in the state government. I can see that my son is in good hands…"

"Thank you." Taiki replied with a false smile. "It's getting late, we should be going now. Sorry for the intrusion. I wish you and your wife a wonderful night ahead. Let's go, Yaten. Usagi is waiting for us outside…"

Without another word, the four youngsters headed for the exit leaving the speechless crowd behind. Yaten from the corner of his eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.

"_Yuki?"_

An eye-catching teenager stood by the distance watching them. He had dark slivery hair and grey lonely eyes. Then, he took a step back into the shadow…

"Uncle Hayoku, you are letting Yaten go just like that?" After the Aces left, Rei asked in disbelief.

"Just for the time being…" Hayoku replied while still staring at the empty entrance. "That kid, Taiki Kou… his existence with the jurisdiction of the State Law is not to be underestimated. He can easily legalize or destroy any regulation as if he's 'Law' himself. Furthermore, didn't you note the Nemesis frightening telekinetic power?" he referred to the destroyed door. "Fighting with them head on now will just cause more unnecessary damage…"

"So, does that mean my engagement with Yaten is cancelled?" She asked urgently.

"Don't worry, Rei…" Her aunt soothed. "Your uncle is already planning a scheme to end the Aces influential…"

"Really?" Rei asked hopefully. "There's really a way to eliminate the Aces?"

"Yes, of course there is." Hayoku grinned. "The engagement is still on. You will definitely be Yaten's bride."

The young lady was seen smirking at her uncle's confidence.

--

* * *

--

"Hmmm? What are you looking at Taiki?" Usagi peeping curiously from behind asked.

The group was in the living room enjoying a television night show. Taiki had his frameless spectacles on as he seriously glanced through several thin sheets of papers.

"It's our class name lists." He replied with a smile.

"Oh! Oh! I know! I know!" Usagi clapped. "You are considering who we should get for the upcoming tournament examination, am I right?"

"Smart." Taiki praised. "Do you have any suggestion in mind, Usagi?"

"Hmmm…" she thought hard. "How about Haru-chan?"

All eyes were on Usagi's nomination.

"What? Me?" Haruka choked on his chips. "There's no way I can team with you guys for the examination. A beginner like me will just drag everyone down."

"You are not a drag!" Usagi opposed. "You were a great help in our last assignment case. And isn't it better to choose someone who we are familiar with?"

She had her huge puppy eyes on Seiya and was silently begging him to agree with her.

Seiya could only stare back speechlessly. He would have said 'No' if it wasn't for those pleading eyes.

Firstly, because of Taiki's extreme intelligence ability, the Aces never needed a sensor and even if they ever decided to have one, he would definitely pick a Prophet.

Secondly, he knew Yaten will never put Minako into combat thus placing their team handicapped against the others -_ doubling the handicap if they chose Haruka._

And finally, it's rather difficult to look after not mentioning train a starter psychic.

But despite all these disadvantages, Seiya was still confident on gaining the victories with or without a beginner levelled mate.

"What do you think, Taiki?" Seiya letting out a sigh asked.

"I see... Our leader is being indecisive." Taiki seemingly reading Seiya's thoughts replied. "Honestly, I can foresee the problems if we chose Haruka-san but they aren't that big…" The Aces should be able to handle them."

His response had Usagi jumping with joy. "That's great! That's great! Haru-chan! We can be in the same team for the tournament! I'm so excited!"

"You guys can't be serious…" Haruka asked in disbelief.

"Since our genius agreed, and Odango is happy about it…" The leader confirmed. "So, ya… You are in."

"Wow?" Haruka was still amazed. "The Four Great Aces chose a beginner like me? It seriously sounds unreal…"

"We know…" Seiya, Taiki and Yaten agreed together.

"Now that Yaten and Usagi had their picks, no one is allowed to interfere with mine and Taiki's final selection!" Seiya continued impatiently as he faced Taiki. "The last one better be good…No, not just good. I want the best!"

Taiki giggled at Seiya's ideal. "We do think alike, don't we?"

"_No wonder we fell for the same girl."_ Both of them sighed in their thoughts.

Taiki cooperatively passed a copy over to Seiya as they earnestly scanned through the collected students' information. Including them, the class consists of 28 students assembling a total of 4 teams for the initial class battle. Taiki had genuinely compiled each and every one of his respective classmates' information, be it their origins, psychic abilities and power gauges.

In total, the class (excluding them) had 14 standard-levelled, 6 pre-advanced level and 2 specialized levelled.

--

"_Power Gauge is the amount of Power points a psychic holds that determine one's level._

_Power points gauge category: _

_Non-psychic: Nil_

_Beginner level: 1 – 500 pts_

_Standard level: 501 – 1500 pts_

_Pre-Advanced level: 1501 – 4000 pts_

_Advanced level: 4001 – 9,000 pts_

_Specialized level: 9,001 – 20,000 pts_

_Elite level: 20,000 – 90,000 pts_

_Unique level: 90,000 pts - ??_

_The gauges of unique levelled psychics are also noted to be incalculable."_ – Story fact

--

The two leaders stopped at a similar page, "Him."

The rest of the group gathered around as they peered at their selection.

"What? Yuki Sohma?!" Yaten exclaimed loudly.

Both Taiki and Seiya nodded. "Yes, your stepbrother."

"Oh? Besides Ayame, Yaten has another brother?" Usagi asked keenly. "Furthermore he's in the same class with us? I didn't know what!!"

"Tell me about it. I didn't know that either…" Yaten replied unbelievably. "He was not in class today, was he?"

"Nope, he was absent." Taiki answered. "No surprise since the Ice Prince hardly attends classes or socializes. I can understand why the Kou and Sohma families are strictly controlling him since Elemental Manipulator is a rare birth."

--

"_Elemental Manipulator is a psychic who has the ability to control one of the following classical elements; fire, water, ice, wind, electric, earth…"_- Story fact.

--

"He can be of some help to us since he's an Ice Manipulator." Seiya added casually. "What's more a specialized levelled."

--

"_An Ice Manipulator holds the ability to reduce the kinetic energy of atoms and thus reduce the temperature, can be used to control, generate or absorb ice." _– Story fact.

--

"But it's not possible..." Yaten stated. "Both the Kou and Sohma families will most probably force him into Rei Hino's team since they fear that he might join ours."

"That's just sound so wrong!" Usagi frowned a little.

"Indeed, it does…" Yaten agreed. "But, such parental control is legalized in the eyes of the law. Though I know very little about Yuki since we do not share the same father, I could tell that his childhood was anything but happy. He did tried going against the Sohma family once, but it wasn't a success. Then, he was severally punished for his rebellion and was heard obeying their command ever since…"

"Eh?! We must save him!" Usagi abrupt statement had everyone choking on their drinks. She was serious about it since Yuki's current condition reminded her of her friends' gloomy pasts.

"I'm sure Taiki knows a way to." She smiled in confident.

"Usagi, you sure know how to push responsibility around…" Taiki chuckled a little, "But, you are right, somehow there's a way since I know the secret behind his obedience…"

"You do?!" Both Yaten and Haruka exclaimed together.

"Nothing surprising. He knows everything." Seiya expected. "Spit it out, Mr. Know-it-all."

"Let's begin with the basic family regulation shall we?" Taiki started. "Once a child turns 18, he's granted by the law the entitlement to make several independent decisions in fields like education, career or non-arranged marriage. This means if Yuki-san agrees to join our team, neither the Sohma nor the Kou family have any rights to oppose it. But here is the main problem, this rule never did or will apply to him…"

"But why?" Haruka questioned. "Doesn't the law apply to all?"

"It does." Taiki continued. "But even the law can't save his freedom because the Sohma family is holding someone dear to him as custody leaving him with no choice but to obey them."

"Hm? What an honourable act." Seiya stated with sarcasm. "So, in conclusion, he can never join us unless we are able to save his 'someone' who is currently under his family keeping, am I right?"

"Precisely…" Taiki nodded. "So leader, what's your decision? In knowledge that the main Aces can handle the exam tournament with or without Yuki, is it still our call to go against the Sohma family just for one temporary team-mate?"

"How troublesome…" Seiya sighed.

All eyes were on Seiya as he sat silently in deep thoughts. What Taiki said was right. The four Aces alone can take on any team of seven easily. So, practically there was no reason why they needed to get involved with the Sohma family just for one specialized psychic who he was unfamiliar with. Furthermore, they were no heroes or justices. The picture was clear, 'unnecessary with no benefit.' But why? Why can he feel a hidden sense of desire to help this poor stranger? Was it out of pity or because Yuki reminded him of their sad pasts? The feeling of being trap with no freedom or anyone to rely on, longing for a hand to reach forth and a miracle to happen.

Seiya reactively gazed up at Usagi who was smiling lightly back at him. He sometimes wondered what was in her mind during her breakthrough into the execution court five years back. Clearly, she wasn't thinking at all and the consequence did not bother her. He recalled her crying during what he thought was their first goodbye since he had never expected himself to live or her to show up at his last moment, but she did and, with a pleasant smile, she reached out her hand to him once more:

"_Let's go! Seiya! Let's watch the sunrise together!" _

She set him free.

But, yet again, why?

The answer was simple: It was all because she wanted to.

He smiled at his memories, _"Maybe we can create another miracle…" _

"I won't look cool if I'm to back out from my pick right?" Seiya then placed his final statement. "Yuki Sohma will be the Aces seventh member then."

The team was obviously pleased with their leader's decision.

--

* * *

--

"Yuki!" an unkind voice called. A boy with dark silvery hair froze as he glanced over his shoulder at his father.

"Yes?" Yuki choked out trying to hide his displease. He took a deep breath and clenched both of his fists after realizing his stepmother presence. Their expression remained unchanged, retaining the cold strict appearance. He shivered slightly, detesting the hate and fear of his parents and the entire Sohma family.

The sly scheme was undisclosed; in order to control him, they confined his lover, Tohru Honda accusing this innocent maid of stealing. They shamelessly used her as his threat, if he dared repel against them, they will not hesitate to public her as a criminal which was punishable by the law. With no friends or anyone siding him, he felt hopeless against the family and allowed them to manipulate him like a string-puppet.

"Come here!" they ordered.

Yuki obediently went over not meeting their stares. His parents' eyes held no love and he loathed looking into them and feeling that loneliness again. The feeling that told him no one would truly care for him and he meant nothing but an Ice Manipulator to them. Tohru was the only reason that kept him breathing and he will do anything to protect his only meaning in life.

"You are not allowed to show such disrespect! Greet us properly!" his stepmother ordered.

"Good morning, Father, Mother…" his eyes remained glued to the floor.

"Very well! And I hope you will follow the Kou family orders to accept the invitation into Rei Hino's team." His father commanded. "You should know what will happen if you don't…"

"Yes, Father." Yuki held his fists tight, they were threatening him again. His parents have been making decision for him ever since young, from the clothes he wore to the friends he made. He was stupid to think he would be free from them once he turned eighteen.

"Alright. You have our permission to go. We don't want you to be late for school."

The two adults left without another word leaving the agonized Yuki believing that he might never be set free from this callous family.

--

* * *

--

"Hey look! Look! It's the Ice Prince, Yuki Sohma!"

Mutterings were heard throughout the classroom as the unbothered Yuki headed to his seat.

"Gosh!! He's so handsome!! I think I have fallen for him…"

"How could you? Aren't you a fan of the Aces? What's more it's best not to get too involve with the Ice prince…"

"Why?!"

"I heard that…"

"What? You serious? His family is prone to inspect on whoever that befriended him?!"

"Shhhh… Not so loud…"

Yuki unconcernedly unfolded his bag and took out his parapsychology textbook. He detested school as much as his home. There was no meaning in attending school anyway since he has no say in his future.

Then, a high volume of deafening screams from the outer hallway caught his attention.

"ACES!! ACES!! AHHHHHHHHH!! SEIYAAAAAA!!"

The classroom door slid opened harshly as the celebrities students proceeded into the classroom.

"Seriously, you guys grab too much attention." Haruka grumbled out of agitation.

"You have no right to be complaining, Haruka. Our popularity increased by approximately 25 percent with you around…" Taiki calculated.

"Oh no!" Usagi shrieked.

"What's wrong?!" Her gang pausing at the midst of the classroom asked in concern.

"I left my numerology work book back at home!!" She cried.

"_The Four Aces…"_ Yuki was stealing a glance at the infamous team. He knew about their incredible history of course, and secretly envied his stepbrother for being part them. They amazed him with last night incident. The fact that the rest of the Aces were willing to go against anyone and face any circumstances just to protect Yaten.

Looking at them right now, laughing, arguing and teasing, it did give him a new glimpse of belief that maybe he too will have such reliable comrades in the future, freeing him from his family torment.

"_It's impossible…"_ Yuki laughed at his naïve thought before peeping at the Aces once more, only to find them gazing back at him.

He looked away quickly, his cheek showing slight redness. _"What am I thinking?" _

The Aces was seen grinning pleasingly among themselves at his reaction.

"So, that's your evil fiancé, Rei Hino?" Haruka asked half-jokingly after noting an arrogant brunette approaching Yuki with her group of five.

"I agreed that she's evil! But she's not my fiancée!!" Yaten snapped, and his loud shout caught the whole class attention.

"Good morning, Yaten… and the Aces." Rei's group keeping a distance from the renowned team greeted. She got to keep her image upright even though she didn't like and fear them.

"Good morning." Taiki returned the greeting with a false smile, Usagi waved back naturally while Seiya and Yaten deliberately ignored them.

"Have the Four Aces decided on your next three members for the exam tournament yet?" Rei asked friendly but with intention. "I'm afraid you might have a hard time selecting since our class doesn't seem to have many high levelled psychics."

"Thank you for your concern." Taiki responded formally. "We are quite through with our team formation."

"Oh?" Rei with a shocking act continued. "May I know who the three lucky mates are?"

"Minako Aino, Haruka Tenoh and…" Taiki glanced over to the silent Yuki who hastily avoided his stare. "Our seventh member is still under debate."

Rei was clearly not pleased when she heard Minako was listed. She gave the quiet Succubus a quick angry glare before turning her eyes back to Taiki.

"They are sure some interesting picks…" She commented while trying not to sound sarcastic.

The class was equally shocked by their selection. Were they kidding them? Or just plain underestimating? Picking a Succubus and a beginner levelled sensor was a suicidal act. Despite the Aces handicaps, no team wished to face off against them, for they know one main Ace is enough to pull down the entire team of seven.

The school bell made its first ring for the day.

"I wish the Aces luck in getting your seventh mate." Rei departed back to her seat.

"We will need more than just luck…" Taiki murmured as he casually opened his course book.

"No, we just need your brain!! With Taiki, anything is possible!" Usagi exclaimed with a nod, as if she was agreeing with herself.

Taiki chuckled lightly, "But I need your full attention on the lecture. We don't want you failing the written examination."

Usagi pouted but submissively directed her focus to the lesson.

Her constant obedience towards Taiki had Seiya secretly feeling a slight chill of jealousy even though he was aware that she cared deeply for him as well. It was pretty obvious since who would risk saving someone she doesn't love? She even allowed him to kiss her and her smile always seemed brighter around him. But sometime he just couldn't help it. Taiki is definitely the last person on earth he would ever want to compete with. This genius can easily turn a losing match into his victory but Usagi isn't a game. The cousins shared many similarities which included feelings. To them, she's their first love, their life! She saved them! Neither of them would be alive if it wasn't for her.

Generally, Usagi had pampered Seiya with too much love and care that it had became humanly impossible for him to live a day without her presence. Seiya quietly sighed. He definitely can't afford losing her to Taiki. No way! And why out of all people must it be Taiki, his best friend and comrade. Many times, he would convince himself to ignore this feeling of insecurity but it just kept coming back. He hated himself for being overly selfish and possessive but isn't love meant to be this way?

Seiya was so lost in his own thoughts that he did not notice Usagi's rapid call. Her gentle touch against his forehead finally caught his attention. "Seiya? Seiya? Are you alright? Are you sick?!"

He blinked dreamingly at Usagi for a second before his eyes shot up in distress at her near tears expression.

"What's wrong Odango? Why are you looking so sad?"

"Because of you idiot…" Taiki showing a slight hint of jealousy replied. "Don't just space out, you had her worried…"

"Are you sick?! Do you need to visit the school doctor?!" Usagi asked without pausing and made an abrupt stood up, catching the whole class attention.

"Sensei! Seiya's sick! He needs…"

"No! No! Wait… Odango…" Seiya instantaneously stopped the blonde from proceeding further. "I'm fine… I''m fine… Sit...Sit back down…"

"Really?" Usagi asked, still standing up.

"Yes, Yes…" Seiya blushed slightly, feeling a little embarrassed. "I'm really fine. So, please sit back down."

Usagi with a sigh of relief obediently dropped back down to her seat.

"Please don't ever scare me like that again!" She scolded openly. "Seiya! I need your full attention on the lecture! We don't want you failing the written examination!"

"That sounded familiar…" Taiki giggled lightly.

He was feeling a little happy about Usagi using his quote, the phrase which he told her several minutes ago, on Seiya which only meant she took his words into heart.

On the other hand, Seiya could only laugh at her adorableness. Indeed, she cared a great deal for him and tended to overreact when it came to his well-being. Most of the girls in class including Usagi blushed a slight redness upon witnessing Seiya's bright smile. It was a very rare and charming sight. His smile never failed to remind her of her favourite sunrise. It was beautiful and magnificent. She adored it very much and her dark side will not forgive anyone who dared to destroy it.

"Odango, you have no right to instruct me since you are the one who will most likely fail the papers.." Seiya teased, patting her lightly on the head. "I pray for your intelligence to improve everyday, but it doesn't seem to be working."

"Prayers will never work, Seiya." Taiki joined in. "I suggest brain cell transplantation..."

"Hey!" Usagi pouted. "Do you guys seriously have this little confident in me passing the written paper?"

"We have no confident at all." Seiya and Taiki nodded together.

"That's mean! All of you just wait and see!" Usagi pointed her finger at Seiya. "I will score better than you!"

She then changed her target to Taiki. "And you too!"

"Im-Impossible... Totally... impossible..." The two boys were heard laughing hysterically.

"But we admire your determination even though you have nothing to back it up..." Seiya patting Usagi lightly giggled.

"Don't worry, Usagi." Taiki added, using his hand to cover his grin. "We will support you through, no matter what happen..."

Usagi puffed her cheeks. "Hump! Meanies!! I am not talking to the both of you!"

"Don't be angry, I will cook your favourite dishes tonight." Seiya poking her puffed cheek convinced.

Ignoring him, Usagi turned to her left only to find a Taiki smiling back at her. "I will let you copy my notes as an apology..."

She ignored him too.

Not being able to face either left or right, Usagi could only look front into the eyes of their displeased lecturer.

"Ahem!" Their module lecturer coughed. "Are the Aces quite done with all the amusement yet? Can I continue with the lesson now?"

"We are truly sorry to be disturbing the class…" Taiki replied apologetically. "Please do continue, Anoka sensei."

With it, the class concurrently shifted their attention back to the lecture.

--

* * *

--

"_Who would have believed that the ruthless Nemesis could actually smile like that?"_ Yuki thought as he headed to his room.

Immediately, he lay down on his bed tiredly closing his eyes. With his occupied mind, he hadn't gotten much sleep for nights. He can't stop worrying for Tohru's well-being. Did they feed her enough? How's her condition now? Has she been sleeping well lately? His family had her locked up somewhere which he had no clue to and even forbid him from seeing her. They claimed that she will be safe and healthy as long as he obeys them.

Yuki was sick of this enslaved life, tired of being useless and hated his disability to protect his only love. He knew no one was willing to help him, why must they? There was no benefit and it was just plain insanity to turn the Sohma family into one's enemies just to save his freedom. So, in the end he was left all alone and forever will be…

If he did not exist, Tohru will not have to suffer. He was not needed anyway, so who cares if he dies? Except for Tohru but she will be better off without him since he was the cause of her torment.

"_Someone…Please kill me…"_

Suddenly his room lights began flickering phenomenally before several gentle footsteps and a childlike giggling were heard.

"Oniisan! Over here! Oniisan!"

Yuki jumped out of bed in alarm, "Wh-What?!"

He glanced around his room wildly stopping his eyes at the extreme left corner and was stunned to find a small child dressed in dull green kimono hiding behind his closet.

"Are you Yuki Oniisan?" the ghostly child asked shyly.

"You… You are a Zashiki-warashi..." Yuki shivered slightly.

--

"_Zashiki-warashi is a child spirit. Its appearance is that of a 5 or 6 year child with bobbed hair and a red face. The child could be either male or female, though they are often depicted as girls. It is said that once a Zashiki-warashi inhabits a house, it brings the residence great fortune and should it depart, the domain soon falls into a steep decline."_ – Facts

--

No way! Was this child spirit here to take his life? But, from what he knew, a Zashiki-warashi can't kill.

"Are you Yuki Oniisan?" she repeated her question with a grin.

"Ha… Hai…" Yuki choked on his reply. "You are here for me?"

The ghost nodded and took a few steps towards the startled Yuki.

"Shishou(Master) wanted me to hand this over to you." She presented him a piece of folded paper.

As soon as Yuki took the sheet over, the Zashiki-warashi mysteriously vanished. Silence occupied his room once again as he curiously unfolded the thin sheet.

"_A map?!"_ He was more than surprise to discover a visual representation of a remote area. He noted a huge 'X' marking near its eastern region with huge letterings indicating: _'Come here after school tomorrow.'_

He instinctively flipped the map over. His eyes were seen widening with surprise as he read the following message:

'**You are wanted by The Aces.**'

--


	8. His Past, Her Appearance: Nine Years Ago

**--**

**His Past, Her Appearance: Nine Years Ago**

--

"Mr. Kou, this is your new residential."

The nine years old brunet got off a black Mercedes. He was accompanied by four formally dressed men. Standing in the open, Seiya stared expressionlessly at the big bungalow before him. The Victorian-built house came with a beautiful garden; tall Sakura trees, colourful rose bushes and fancy white metal fencing as its border. But, in Seiya's eyes, he found nothing appealing, be it the stylish-established house or the lovely garden, he saw no vibrant; everything was black and white.

_How plain, how simple and how dull…_

"Your parents have left this place under your name."

Parents? What parents? Who were they? The little boy had no memories of such people. How did they look like? How did they sound like? His parents' faces and voices were vague to him. All he could recall was the day when his mother left him in the isolation room where he spent his next three years in, alone. Why did they even bother moving him out? This house was just like his previous jail, only bigger.

"After you sign the contract, this district will be officially yours to keep." The man who was most probably a lawyer presented Seiya a property document. Without any affection, he took the pen and signed the agreement.

"That will do. Thank you very much."

Seiya caught a glimpse of the men bowing courteously before him, their eyes showing obvious fear and anxiousness. He remained quiet and unfeeling since he was used to such treatment.

"Here is the key to the house. Your clothes and other necessities are already inside. And regarding your consent into the National Psychical Academy, it was permitted by the principal." The lawyer handed little Seiya his house key.

"We had also arranged private transportation to send you to the academy every morning." The group of men finished off with another bow and hurriedly proceeded into the car.

The little boy emotionlessly headed for the main door. Inserting the antique-looking key into the knob, he opened the access revealing a spacious and fully-furnished living room. The interior was designed according to the vintage of the Victorian Era, historic and romantic. But its diverse beauty was not appreciated by its young owner. Seiya uncaringly tossed his bag onto the nearby couch and proceeded up to his room.

He was only nine, but already the rightful keeper of a big meaningless estate. His pair of dark blue eyes glanced unfeelingly at the remaining eight vacant rooms. They were all nicely furnished with matching curtains and fresh bed sheets, but they held no usage.

Where were their owners?

No, they didn't have any.

These eight rooms served no purpose and little Seiya believed that they would remain empty forever.

"_They are useless…"_ He thought plainly and locked the doors.

--

* * *

--

It was a minute past five in the morning. The little brunet robotically sat up and thoughtlessly glanced through his surrounding. Like usual, the master bedroom was dark and quiet, he got out of bed and exited his room. Outside, the long hallway was equally lifeless, conquered with dead silence.

The whole house and estate held no life, he was the only living.

Stepping out from the quiet house, he came face to face with darkness; the black clouded sky and its dreary atmosphere. He felt and heard nothing as he proceeded through the shade. All he could make out was the date and time. It was the weekend, he needed not attend school and he was in the twilight hours where the day held it darkest just like his life.

He survived a month of useless schooling. Unlike other kids, he was not allowed to participate in regular classes. The academy had specially designed several programs by which he attended in alone. The little boy had no objection or thought regarding such unfairness for he knew nothing about emotions. What was happiness? What was sadness? How does one react when he's happy? These questions were unanswered. He hadn't spoken a single word to anyone for the past three years and his memories were as empty as his thoughts.

Leaning against his garden biggest Sakura tree, he glanced up at the soft, diffusing sky. It was the beginning of dawn, where the day welcomed its first light but his heart and soul remained trapped in complete darkness. He absorbed nothing. He could not hear the early bird cheerily chipping or smell the sweet opening of the morning glories. Even the comforting sunlight brought no warmth.

"Wah!!"

Suddenly, Seiya felt something heavy landed onto him from above. It had hit him hard and he was pinned below it with his lips locked against it's, into a firm kiss. At this, his eyes snapped opened from shock and he found himself staring up into a pair of sky-blue orbs.

The golden object hastily pushed itself away from his chest, "Gomen! Gomen! I didn't mean to land onto you! I was watching the sunrise at the top of the tree and I fell! I'm really sorry!" A little girl with blonde, untied shoulder-length hair was kneeling before him as she apologized frantically.

Seiya sat back up, blinking a few times in confusion. He did not understand what had just happened. He reactively touched his lips, his eyes not leaving the stranger who stole his first kiss. But strangely, his lips felt warm.

"Did I hurt you anywhere?!"

Seiya saw her eyes anxiously scanning through his body for any injuries. To her relief, she didn't find any and smiled.

"I'm really sorry!" she apologized again. "You saved me! I would have fallen to my death if it wasn't for you!"

Seiya remained silent, his charming face was expressionless. All he could do was stare straight at her. For years, he spoke no words and held no emotions thus he did not know what to feel or react at her apologies.

Seeing his unresponsiveness, the little girl panicked "Eh?! Did I hurt your head?! Let's… Let's call an ambulance!"

Seiya got up uncaringly and turned away with the intention to head back in.

"Wait!"

He heard the girl called out but he did not stop for her.

The blonde then made a quick dash forward and stopped right in front of him, blocking his path. She held out her hand to him offering a handshake, but all Seiya could do was stare at her hand, unable to figure out what she wanted to do with it.

She boldly reached and grasped onto his. "Hi, my name is Usagi Tsukino. Will you be my friend?"

He noted her big smile, an expression in which he had never seen before.

"What's your name?" Usagi asked keenly.

Name? No one called him by his real name. He couldn't remember it. And what was friend? He unconsciously flung her hands away breaking her hold and continued his path into the house.

"I will come again tomorrow!" he heard her shouting to him before he closed the door.

No, she wouldn't. There was no reason for her to be here. She was not his private chauffeur, maids, or chef. He glanced out of the window, and as expected, the mysterious girl was gone. But strangely her images and voices still remained locked in his head. He closed the curtain believing that he would never see her again.

--

* * *

--

The first light intruding into Seiya's dim room woke him up. As usual, he got out of bed, passed through the row of empty rooms after his morning grooming and exited the house. His eyes began scanning through the wide garden as if they were searching for something.

As expected, no one was there.

He was not upset or disappointed since these feelings were a mystery to him. The three years of isolation had turned him into a living robot.

"Hey! You've just missed the sunrise!" The familiar voice caught him by surprised.

He gazed up into the pink, and to his surprise found Usagi smiling down to him from the top of the big Sakura.

"The sunrise today was spectacular too!" She gave him a bigger smile.

The quiet Seiya continued staring at her. She looked like a little living goddess against the falling pink petals and lines of sunray. For some unknown reason, his heart began pumping faster and his cheek darkened with slight redness. What was this feeling? And why was she here?

Usagi stuck out her tongue in embarrassment, "Do you have a ladder or something for me to get down?"

But, her request was not answered as she gazed into his pair of unaffected eyes.

"It's ok, I am a big girl! I can get down without any help!" She grinned and clumsily settled her first foot onto a lower branch.

"WAHHHH!!"

She missed her second step. Closing her eyes hard, she prayed that the fall wouldn't hurt too much. And as if her prayer was heard, she felt no pain. Opening them, she was more than surprise to find herself suspended in the air. She gasped in disbelief as the invisible force laid her gently back down onto the grassy ground.

Usagi turned and faced her savior who had his back turned against her, ready to head back in.

"Thank you! Thank you for saving me again!"

Her loud appreciation had Seiya stopping his step. And with a half-tilled face, he gave Usagi a slight nod before heading back into the house.

"I will come again tomorrow!"

--

* * *

--

Little Usagi was in her room as she danced around the small, available portion before tossing herself onto the fluffy bed. She gazed up at a life-sized object that was covered by a long red silky cloth.

Removing the cover, it revealed a full-length mirror.

She peered into it and whispered, "Yuumei…"

And, as unbelievable as it may seemed, her mirror-image darkened with her hair and eyes turning black. The reflection phenomenally stepped out of the mirror.

It held a friendly smile.

--

"_Yuumei means Dusk." – Japanese translation._

_--_

In the mirror point of view, the twin has no reflection. It looked like a doppelganger of her reverse image, a Vardoger. This nine year old had a dark and dreadful past that she planned to tell no one and few knew. She was born special; a supernatural among the supernatural.

--

"_A doppelganger is a ghostly double of a living person, a sinister form of bilocation. It also referred as 'doublewalker', meaning someone who is acting the same way as another person. They are generally regarded as harbingers of bad luck. In some traditions, a doppelganger seen by family or friends portend illness or danger, while seeing one's own doppelganger is an omen of death. In Norse mythology, it's a ghostly double that precedes a living person and is seen performing their action in advance. In folktale, a doppelganger cast no shadow, and has no reflection in mirror or water. Its may also take the form of the reverse image of oneself, known as a Vardoger." – Facts._

--

"He saved me again…" the blonde told her brunette twin. "And one day, I''m going to repay him."

The Vardoger responded with a sweet smile.

"Though I still don't know his name, I can feel that…" Usagi embraced her other half. "We are the same."

"_I want to watch the sunrise with him someday…"_

_--_

* * *

_--_

Because of Usagi regular visit, the old Sakura tree was soon given its own ladder and the young proprietor had no intention on removing it. At times, she would even show up in the afternoon admiring the blooming flowers in his garden.

Though Seiya did not once spoke or watch the sunrise with Usagi, they were seen spending more time together. He would visit the garden more frequently and sometime would even stay there till she leaved. Soon, the news of a mysterious young girl associated with the Nemesis outspreaded.

On Usagi's third month visit, she was approached by a group of officials working for the government. They were sent down to investigate on her and Seiya's development.

"What's your name, little girl?"

Usagi was alone in Seiya's garden when four unfamiliar men came up to her.

"I was taught not to speak to stranger." Usagi replied politely.

"We are not bad people, little girl." One of the men convinced. "We are sent down by the state government to check on the Nemesis."

"The Nemesis?" Usagi cocked her head in confusion.

"The boy living in this estate. You visit him everyday, didn't you?"

"His name is not Nemesis…" Usagi assured, her smile slowly fainting. Though he still hadn't told her, she somehow knew that it was not his real name.

The men exchanged stares before looking back down at her, "What is your purpose for coming here? Do you know that the Nemesis is a dangerous child? For your safety, you are advice not to get too close to him…"

Seiya from an open distance overheard their conversation but could hardly feel anything over the adults' comment. He heard it all the time and was made to believe them.

"I said that's not his name!" Her sudden shout caught everyone including Seiya by surprise.

He saw a severe change in her expression, she wasn't smiling anymore. Though he could not interpret her emotion, something inside him triggered unpleasantness. She wasn't her usual self and he didn't like it. But before he could take a step closer, two of the men strangely fell onto their knees.

"Can't breathe… Can't breathe…" they struggled for air. Their unexplainable symptom shocked the group.

One phoned the ambulance while the rest helplessly tried aiding the suffocating men. "Hey… Get hold of yourself! What is happening?!"

Looking back up, they gasped at the color of her eyes. They were black! Was it an optical illusion cause by the shadow cast or did her irises actually darkened.

What? Who was she?

The light foot steps from behind saved them. Sensing an important presence, Usagi immediately turned and strangely after, the two men were able to inhale again.

"You are here!" Usagi cheered.

All Seiya could do was stare at the happy blonde. His unpleasantness magically vanished upon seeing her usual smile.

"What should we do today? Let me see…" Usagi pondered.

The little couple was too focused on each other to notice the officials leaving.

"I found a lake nearby! Will you like to go there with me?" Usagi finished up with bright smile.

As usual, he did not reply her as Usagi continued to peer at him, her eyes softening.

There was a brief moment of stillness.

"Sei…ya…" A fresh whisper broke the silence.

"Wh-what?" Usagi eyes widened with absolute surprise. Were her ears playing tricks on her or did he just say something?

"Name… is…" he spoke a little clearer while avoiding her stare. "Sei…ya."

It was his first speech after three isolated years. This had Usagi gasping in disbelief. He spoke! He spoke to her! She finally knew his name! Tears of joy were seen escaping as she nodded eagerly while wiping them off.

"_He has such a beautiful voice…"_ she secretly thought.

"Wh… What a nice name…" She grasped onto his hands delightfully. "Seiya… Seiya… Seiya…"

He did not want her to stop calling his name. They were like music to his ears, pleasant and serene. For some reasons, he felt his cheeks burning. Why? Was he running a fever? What was this feeling? It was the first time hearing his real name being called with such affection. And it sounded good. He continued staring at the girl who was still holding onto him. She had the brightest smile ever. It was so welcoming and warm. But at the same time, he saw tears in her eyes. He definitely did not understand why she was smiling and crying at the same time. His lips were seen curving into a gentle smile.

"You are weird…" He commented with a faint grin.

A slight redness flushed across Usagi's face, darkening her rosy cheeks. It was strange. She could not set her eyes off his smile. She thought it looked priceless, flawless and addictive, to the extent that she would go through anything just to see it again.

Little did she know about its forbidden. This new found happiness was the beginning of an unexpected misery ahead; one that created history.

--

* * *

--

"Taiki-sama, these are the books you've requested." A maid carrying a pile of books submitted.

"Place them down." A young boy with neat auburn hair directed without looking up, his eyes still on the page. "You may go now."

During his available time, Taiki would visit the state national library and feed on its knowledge. He used to stay till nightfall since he got no important matters to attend to but after his meeting with Usagi, he never failed to leave before dusk just to watch the sunset with her.

The little genius sighed. He can't concentrate on reading, his mind kept flashing back to yesterday which was his first encounter with the Nemesis. Usagi was obviously the only one happy with the whole 'get-together party'.

Between themselves, the cousins didn't make a good first impression. Taiki did however find Seiya surprisingly attractive. It's hard to believe that a pretty boy like him was classified under the term dangerous. He used to picture the Nemesis as a dull-looking child, but as predicted he was terribly hard to get friendly with. Seiya spoke nothing and if that wasn't bad enough, his glare sent shock wave. It had Taiki wondering just how Usagi managed to get comfortable with him. She must be a deity or something to be on the Nemesis good-side. But one thing was for certain, Seiya didn't take a liking on Taiki. Not that he hated him but he just wasn't fond of him. The genius knew the reasons; partially because of his upbringing and Usagi.

Rarely anything escape Taiki's vision. He was cleared about the actual intention behind Seiya's isolation. It was not a punishment for his manslaughter or that he was dangerous, they were only cover-ups, excuses. The real purpose was to dominate and control him for their future usage. Psychologically, to isolate a child in his early age will cause him to suffer from lack of sensitivity resulting in unaffectionate to his surroundings and happenings. It was a growth without a taste of feeling, like a body without a heart, living a life of a robot. Seiya was a distinctive birth, a child that held incalculable telekinetic energy, deadlier than any nuclear weapon ever invented. The Kou family will never allowed such power to escape. Nothing serves better than someone with no emotion.

"_Robot is created to obey, it has no feeling therefore it will never betray."_

To turn Seiya into one, it was a guarantee top stand for the Kou family. Cruelly speaking, they were developing him into a weapon, a horrifying tool. That was one dark secret behind the family superior for generation.

And Taiki was sure that if they can't successfully turn him into one, they would kill him. _"A failure serves no usage. Destroy it for all safety." _The boy frowned and clutched the page. His high intelligence brought him too much pain since these were secrets he would rather not know. He would live a happier life without them, just like most average people.

"_She loves the simplest things in life, doesn't she?"_ A sudden thought of Usagi flashed into his occupied mind. He had been thinking a lot about her lately. He once believed that being like her never existed. One who spent her day smiling since the rising sun to its setting and gets friendly to almost anyone or anything including the flowers and the bees. But even so, the genius was certain she's far from just plain simplest. To him, she was a well concealed mystery.

"Her name is Usagi Tsukino."

This caught Taiki's attention. He stole a glance over to the two gentlemen who were a table next to his. He recognized them - they worked as messengers under the government.

"We were told not to investigate further…" the other man spoke almost in a whisper. "So, let drop this subject…"

"But don't you want to know whether she was the culprit who tried to kill us back at the Nemesis estate? It's too bizarre! All of the sudden, we were in a disability state to inhale! I'm sure she got something to do with it!"

"Not so loud, Daniel. I know you are still angry about it, but please keep in mind that we are given orders not to look into it…"

"This is getting so suspicious. First the authority set up an investigation team to check on the girl associating with the Nemesis and without a reason, they disbanded it after hearing her name?"

"Hey, we should not be discussing such things here…" the man glimpsed over to Taiki who pretended not to notice their presence.

They whispered something secretive and left.

Taiki was secretly trembling. He was feeling a mix emotion of curious, concern and confuse. He needed to solve this mystery! Should he quietly investigate? But it will be rude and inappropriate to invade into her private life or past. Usagi was essential to him and he can't afford to have her hating him. Maybe he should just wait till she tells. But will she? Or should he just ask?

"_So, this is the taste of feeling troubled."_ He chuckled in his thoughts.

Finally, he had found something challenging, a mystery that was unreachable. Was there more to it? Who was this girl really? And would he ever get to know?

"_Usagi Tsukino… how interesting…"_

_--_

* * *

_--_

"Od-Odango…" Seiya pointing at Usagi giggled.

Both of them were seated at the roof garden waiting for the coming dawn and Seiya was caught busy laughing at Usagi's new hairstyle.

"Odango…"

Usagi glared at him with a blush. She was pondering whether to kiss his little lips, that beautiful smile, or smack him on the head for giving her such a bad name.

"It's not Odango! It's U-SA-GI!" Usagi shrieked but Seiya ignored her and continued giggling.

Ahhh… How she loved his smile and _hated_ that name. Can't he just call her by her given name or at least come up with a better nick?!

Usagi agitatedly pinched Seiya's cheeks with an evil grin. "This is your punishment for giving me weird name!"

"E…Daii…(It hurt)!" He reactively grabbed onto her hands as he tried to unlock the fingers and thumbs that were hurting both his cheeks.

Abruptly, she released her grasped against his flesh and trapped his face in between her delicate hands. Caught in surprise, Seiya could only stare straight into her eyes of fondness. He allowed his hands to fall back down to his sides with no intention of resistance. Her touch felt so warm against his cold cheeks and he secretly wanted them to stay there forever.

"Do you know that you have such a beautiful smile? It's just like the sunrise, filled with warmth and life." Usagi smiled before leaning closer.

He watched as the distance between them disappeared till their lips were less than an inch apart. As Seiya's temperature rose, so did the morning sun. Usagi withdrew herself and gazed at the eastern horizon.

"WAHHHH!!" she stood up and exclaimed joyfully. "Kirei (beautiful) neh, Seiya?"

She turned around and smiled brightly at him. The blushing boy nodded lightly. Yes, it was a beauty; her against the rising sun. The atmosphere refracted light, causing blue flash and the sky changed its color. For a moment, he felt warm inside.

Their first sunrise together was the birth of a new admiration.

"Don't just sit there!" Reaching for his hands, she pulled him up lightly. "The scenery looks a whole lot nicer while standing…"

He didn't release her hand in fear that she might leave him. She came into his life and revived him. He couldn't actually feel and talk again but if she leaved, he might turn back into his old emotionless self. Would she abandon him like how everyone did? Would she hate him if she knew how dangerous he really is? Would he be able to see the sunrise with her tomorrow?

At that moment, Seiya found himself eager to know more about this girl. Her past, her likes and dislikes. Was she a psychic like him? Sure there were non-psychics around the country and they were citizens of a lower class often as maids and servants. But, she was definitely a one right since she seemed to wander about freely and attended the same academy as him. Genuinely, he won't mind if she was a psychic or not. Nothing was going to change his feeling for her. He never once took interest in anyone. She was the first and probably the last.

"I've decided. I'm going to stay here with you so we can watch the sunrise together everyday!"

Seiya was taken aback by her decision. Not even in his wildest dream would he imagine anyone wanting to reside with him.

"I am going to choose my room!"

She happily pulled him along, down the stairs and into the quiet hall of empty rooms. She detested the lifeless hallway. It was cold and lonely. As they walked down the path, she noticed Seiya's expressionless. He was back to his former self.

Usagi displeasingly placed her fingers at the edges of his lips and stretched them, "Smile!"

Seiya stared oddly at her as she released her hold. "I want you to smile!"

He reluctantly gave her a faint grin. She was not satisfied, but at least he tried.

"Where is the key to this room?" Usagi changed the subject in hope to brighten him up.

"Keys…" Seiya stumbled with his sentence since he was not used to talking yet. "At basement… I get them…"

Usagi saw him disappearing into the distance. She glanced around her surrounding and frowned at such loneliness. Then, she caught a glimpse of a small hang-up mirror and the moment she peered into it, her brunette twin phenomenally appeared as her reflection.

"I am staying here with him from now on…" Usagi informed.

Her reverse-reflection smiled brightly back.

"What do you think?" Usagi gazed at her bun-up hair, immediately remembering Seiya's smile. "Does this hairstyle suits me?"

The black Usagi in the mirror nodded.

"I will be tying them up regularly then… and…" she scanned across the empty locked rooms. "I will lighten this place. Won't it be great if one day they were filled with people? It will be so lively!"

But before her reflection could reply, they heard approaching footsteps. Her mirror image bizarrely changed back to her origin.

"You got the key?" Usagi dashed toward Seiya and smiled.

He nodded and unlocked the room she requested.

"WAHHHH…" Usagi eagerly stepped in and browse through the composed room. She was immediately drawn to its soft pink walls, high ceiling, life-sized window and spaciousness.

"Can I have this room? Can I have this room, please?" she pleaded with puppy-doll eyes.

Seiya was dumbfounded, still unable to believe she was willing to live here with him. "You want it…?"

Usagi nodded with anticipation. "Hai! I want this room! And after I move in, I am going to name this place! Oh! I forgot to ask, how much is the rental here?"

"Rental?" Seiya asked, his eyes showing slight confusion.

"You are the landlord right? Therefore I got to pay you." Usagi explained. "How much is it? Don't worry, I can afford!"

Seiya shook his head gently, "You don't have to pay."

"Eh?! But I can't be staying here for free!" she protested.

"I don't need money…" he insisted.

"Then, is there anything I can do to make up for the payment?" Usagi felt bad as she did not want to become a freeloader.

There were seconds of silence.

"To watch sunrise with you…" Seiya requested. "Keep that promise…"

She was taken aback by the mode of payment and it took her a second to respond. "Hai!" she nodded with a pleasing smile.

Though Usagi moved in the following day, it was not until three years later that the estate was given a name.

It was called: The Aces District.

--


	9. Dreams Do Come True

--

**Dreams Do Come True**

**--**

It had taken him long, rough, and rigorous hours to learn the exact location of the meeting spot marked 'X' in the street map. Yuki had lost track of the time he spent searching for the place. It was the most difficult task he had ever encountered as he hadn't been to many places besides his home and school. He had lied about feeling sick this morning so he could skip school and sneak out during the early afternoon with a less likely chance to get caught. His parents never bother checking on him whether he was sick or healthy as long as they believed he was inside the Sohma domain. But it was a whole new story if he was to return home late after school. They would questions him for hours and have him explaining in full details on the things he did outside. This doesn't prove that they cared for him. They were just afraid that he might get bad influences and disgrace the Sohma family.

He looked at the map one last time reassuring the correct path. The dirt road he was going down seemed to extent forever with thick trees bordering the road on either side. The top trees branches and leaves intertwined into one another blocking out the sunlight. The few street lamps along the path looked busted and had Yuki wondering if anyone still walks this inhabited lane, wherever it might lead to.

Why did the Aces choose to meet him in such a deserted location? No, more importantly, why did he even bother turning up? He even went to the extent of lying to his parents, risking getting caught and punished just for these few people he hardly knew? What had gotten into him?

Yuki had lain in bed all night pondering whether to attend the Aces or ignore them. From what he knew, the Aces consisted of four members starting from the country most feared psychic to his stepbrother; an unique-leveled PK User, a world renowned genius, a famous yet mysterious psychic and a gifted shaman. If he excluded the rumours, besides their names, statuses and history, he hardly knew anything about them. But he secretly admired their unity, bond and most importantly the freedom they have. That was maybe one reason why he chose to risk meeting with them. Another reason was because he wanted to give his meaningless life another chance for any possible changes. It doesn't really matter whether it was good or bad since he was already at his worse.

After climbing what seemed like a never ending stone steps, Yuki stopped at an old, neglected Japanese Shrine and immediately froze. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped and his heartbeat rose. He lost sight of everything except for the skinny lady standing in between two young men.

"Tohru!"

"Yuki! Yuki-kun!"

The next thing he knew, he was embracing her tightly, not wanting to let her go and hoping that she was real. For the past few months, he had been dreaming of this day; the moment he could see her, hold onto her and finally be with her. Though everything now seemed so real, he hearing her cries and feeling her warmth, Yuki still believed it was all a dream. He would wake up from it like usual and feel depress all over again. How could this heaven be real?

"This… This must be a dream." Yuki impulsively muttered aloud.

"Dreams do come true." A manly voice took him by surprise.

With his arms still wrapped around the sniffing Tohru, Yuki gazed up finally noticing the two young men existence. He stood there wordlessly as he stared into those familiar eyes.

"You sounded like Usagi, Taiki." Yaten commented with a slight smile.

"Just her influence…" Taiki replied casually before redirecting his attention back to the enfolded couple. "You don't see the both of us in your dreams, do you?" He politely raised his hand forward, offering a handshake to Yuki. "It maybe kind of late and you might already know who I am. But still, nice to meet you, I'm Taiki Kou."

Yuki stared unbelievably at his hand for a few second, pondering whether to touch it in fear that his hand might disappear. He swallowed hard before finding the courage to actually slip his hand into his.

It locked! It didn't disappear! This wasn't a dream!

"Yuki Sohma, nice to meet you." After assuring that everything was in fact real, he graciously introduced himself and faced his stepbrother, "Nice to meet you too, Yaten."

"I'm glad that you came. I was afraid you were not going to turn up after we have waited 3 hours." Yaten replied sounding a little irritated.

"You guys waited three hours for me?!" Yuki asked, sounding extremely remorseful. He rushed through to get out of his house this afternoon not remembering to carry his watch with him. "Sorry… I'm terribly sorry… I got lost and the map…"

"I was just kidding…" Yaten chuckled lightly at his anxiousness. Who would have thought that the ice prince could react this way? Since Yuki would normally portrayed himself as cold and unapproachable in public. "We had just arrived too. Ask her if you don't believe us."

Yuki gazed down at Tohru who was still in his arm. She gave him a gentle nod and immediately looked back down. He peered at her a while longer instantly noticing that her once lovely and healthy brown hairs were now dull and dry due to malnutrition. Adding to his heartache, he realized that she was way thinner than before and pales enough to pass a corpse.

What had they done to her?

His family had obviously just dumped her in this abandoned shrine and neglected her.

"I'm sorry… It's all my fault that you have to suffer… I'm sorry, Tohru…"

Tears were almost forming at the edges of his eyes, but he held it back. Tohru could feel her lover shivers as he apologetically hugged her tight. Yuki was experiencing a mix emotion of rage and sadness. He was angry at himself for his incapability, furious at his heartless family for doing this to Tohru and depressed to see her looking so weak.

"No, this isn't your fault…" Tohru cried and shook her head frantically.

After several long minutes of sentimental bonding, with continuous apologies from Yuki and opposing cries from Tohru, they finally broke apart upon remembering they were not alone. Yuki locked Tohru hands in his before facing Taiki and Yaten who had their gazes away from them, obviously feeling awkward and out-of-place.

"I really don't know how to thank you enough…" Yuki told them sincerely.

"You can repay us after we get her out of here…" Taiki put on his usual smile.

"Yes. The two of you can continue with your love-love reunion, till Seiya gets here." Yaten added. "Since this entire place is filled with strong force fields, she as a non-psychic cannot leave this area without undoing them."

--

"_Force Field is a barrier made up of energy to protect a person, area or object from attacks or intrusion. It also can be use to trap someone in as a jail or prison; preventing possible entering from the outside or leaving from the inside. This is a defensive ability which only can be performed or undo by a group of alchemists." – Story Fact._

"_Alchemist was a person versed in the art of alchemy; refers to both an early form of the investigation of nature and an early philosophical and spiritual discipline, both combining elements of chemistry, metallurgy, physics, medicine, astrology, semiotics, mysticism, spiritualism, and art all as parts of one greater force. Example will be the transmutation of common metals into gold or silver." – Story Fact._

--

"What? Is that true, Tohru?" Yuki looking down at her asked in shocked. He could not believe that his family went to such extent as to set up force field just to prevent her from leaving this horrible place and them to reunite. Tohru could only nod back lightly, not knowing what to say further. She couldn't possibly tell him that she needs to go around the forest looking for food since they only deliver the smallest amount of necessities to her once per week. To make matters worse, some invisible walls would knock her back thus giving her a hard time moving about.

Yuki clutched his fists hard, feeling the urge to stab a knife through his parents' hearts. But killing them now can't solve anything. Tohru will still be trap in this terrible prison and he as an Ice Manipulator can't possibly undo the barrier. He detested his inability as much as his parents.

Yuki shook his head. This was definitely not the time to be feeling angry or guilty. But what should he do? No way was he going to ask the Aces for further assistance. They had already helped him enough when they have no reason to. What are they thinking? Or plotting? If the Sohma family finds out about this, the Aces will definitely be in for some nasty troubles and Yuki didn't wish to further drag them into his own personal mess.

"You know, she can never get out of here without our help?" Taiki analyzed Yuki thoughts. "Don't reject us, if we can get you in, we can get her out…"

"But… Why?" Yuki asked slowly. "There's no reason for you to be helping us. Do you seriously understand what troubles you are up against?"

"The Sohma family." Both Yaten and Taiki answered blankly.

The way they answered his question with no fear or any slight hint of hesitation had Yuki dumbfounded. Shouldn't they be afraid of the Sohma family just like everyone else?

"Usagi went against the entire country just for Seiya." Taiki replied. "It's just one family we are talking about here, nothing compare to hers."

Yuki was again speechless by Taiki's response and ability to know about his thoughts. It was no surprise that this genius was able to locate Tohru for it seemed like nothing could escape his vision.

"Look, this place is covered with different levelled force fields. Some of the barriers are so strong that even you as a specialized psychic may not be able to exceed pass." Taiki was getting impatient just waiting for Yuki's response, and it didn't seem like he was going to speak anytime soon. "The reason why you can even enter is because we found a suitable route with the weakest force field for you to access. Unlike us, Tohru-san is a non-psychic with zero resistance to the trapping barrier. If you reject our help, she will need to reside here till your family undo the energy field and I don't think that will ever happen."

"No way am I allowing Tohru to stay another day here!" Yuki shook his head determinedly. "I understand that I alone can never get her out of this place." He tightened his hold against Tohru's hand. "So, I will really appreciate it… And I will definitely repay you guys someday."

Both the Aces were seen smiling.

"Good." Taiki held the map forward to Yuki. "Let me further explain things to you. The place we are currently in now is known as the Kami Shrine, it's one of an abandoned property of the Sohma family and surrounding this shrine is Shimenu forest where many professional alchemists used to train in ages ago, which explain the origin of the force fields." He paused for a second and pointed an area. "From what Yaten and I had investigated, this portion here which holds the shortest route to the shrine has the strongest barrier shield, highly impossible for anyone to even enter not to mention exit. But we have found several weak ones, including the one you just came in from." Taiki finalized the last spot. "We will try breaking the force field here, which I analyzed is the weakest."

"But, from what I heard." Yuki interrupted. "It takes at least four alchemists to create and undo the force fields. We can't possibly do it without any."

"Yes, we can." Taiki replied with a smile. "I've found a way to…"

"_This guy can't be serious…"_ Yuki's eyes widened with shock.

"I'm serious…" Taiki once again analyzed his thoughts continued. "There are no needs for four alchemists. We only need three…"

"Three alchemists?" Both Yuki and Tohru spoke at once, their heads cocked slightly expressing confusion.

"Nope. Just three individual psychics…" Taiki smiled. "Starting with you, Yuki-san."

"Me? What can I do?"

"Firstly, your job is to freeze the outer channelling energy of the force field." Taiki explained. "Secondly, Yaten will try temporary stopping the spiritual energy from within and lastly Seiya will deal the final blow…" His voice lowed with confident. "It will definitely break…"

The couple could only stare at Taiki in amazement. So this is the Aces' brain, it was no wonder the team has such great influence in the state governmental, definitely not someone to mess with.

"Is Seiya ever going to turn up?" Yaten was getting impatient.

"Usagi's remedial lesson ended an hour ago…" Taiki looking at his watch replied. "So, Seiya would most probably be arriving another hour later, provided he doesn't get lost."

"Who needs another hour?" A familiar voice was heard from the distance. Everyone immediately turned meeting a perspired Seiya climbing up the stone steps while carrying Usagi on his back.

"Which genius in history built such never ending stairs?!" He complained as he settled Usagi down.

"Are you alright, Seiya?" Usagi stroking Seiya's back gently in an attempt to soothe his panting.

"I'm fine…" Seiya smiled sweetly back before deciding to tease her. "You gained some weight, Odango."

"Hey! I didn't!" Usagi exclaimed aloud.

"You came earlier than I've predicted." Taiki intentionally interrupted them. "And Usagi, I thought I told you that you didn't have to come?"

"But… But, I didn't wish to be left out from all the fun!" Usagi gazed at Taiki with her big puppy eyes. "Am I not welcomed here?"

"No-no… Of course you are most welcomed…" Taiki could never oppose those eyes of hers. "Though there's nothing really fun in being here…"

"How did you guys manage to reach this shrine so quickly?" Yaten asked curiously. "It took me and Taiki almost an hour long to walk from the main road to here."

"We didn't follow your directed route…" Seiya explained. "We took the shortest route…"

"What?! The shortest?!" Yaten exclaimed in disbelief.

"_That explains everything…"_ Taiki thought.

Usagi nodded proudly. "We cut through the shortcut instead. Why didn't you guys use it?"

"Don't tell me, you guys broke through the strongest barrier…" Yaten stared at them in amazed.

"There was a barrier?" Both Seiya and Usagi asked together as they stare into the eyes of shock.

"_These two…"_ Yaten and Taiki sighed in their thoughts._ "We should have expected that even the strongest force fields deal no effect to them…" _

"Hi, I'm Usagi Tsukino." Usagi eagerly grasped and shook both Yuki and Tohru hands together. "And you?"

The couple was both taken aback by her friendliness since hardly anyone dared to approach Yuki or bother wanting to know Tohru for she was just a maid. It took their minds several seconds to progress the appropriate reaction.

"Yu… Yuki Sohma… Nice to meet you."

"I'm Tohru Honda, very nice to meet you, Tsukino-san." Tohru smiled and bowedrespectfully.

"Nice to meet you too, Yuki and Tohru-chan." Usagi directed her smile on Tohru. "Call me Usagi and please don't lower your head before me… It makes me feel kind of awkward."

"I'm sorry…" Tohru unconsciously make another bow. As a maid, she was used to greeting and apologizing to everyone this way.

"Eh?! Didn't I tell you a second ago not to bow before me…" Usagi eased her up immediately meeting each others eyes. Tohru peered at her sky-blue, _"She has such pretty eyes…" _She thought silently and returned Usagi a gentle smile.

Yuki wordlessly stared at the two girls beside him. To him, this was an unusual scene. Forget about being friendly, besides him, no one in his family would even bother to give Tohru a second look. Though he did not understand Usagi outgoingness towards Tohru, he was very grateful. Maybe Usagi can become her first friend which he believed was what Tohru needed and wanted the most.

"We should get going…" Taiki announced as they head for the stairs.

"What?! We need to climb back down after I took ages to get up?" Seiya frowned. "I should have just waited at the bottom from the very beginning…"

"Instead of complaining, you should be thankful to this stairs…" Taiki spoke back.

"And why should I?" Seiya taking the first step down asked.

"It's because the stairs gave you the opportunity to carry Usagi…" He replied.

"I bet you wouldn't call it thankful after you carried her up these long steps…" Seiya said half-jokingly.

"Oh? Really?" Taiki smirked. "I guess I am given the permission to carry her down the stairs then."

But before Seiya could protest, Usagi playfully hopped onto Taiki's back. She stuck her tongue out at Seiya, "Hump! That's for calling me heavy…"

Taiki effortlessly carried her up and grinned at Seiya. "We will meet you at the bottom."

Usagi clapped excitedly as Taiki made a fast dash down. "WAAAA!! This is so fun!"

"You thief! Come back with my Odango!" Seiya was seen chasing after Taiki as they disappeared down the lengthy stairway.

--

* * *

--

"Yup, it's here alright…" Taiki verified the map and location. "Tohru-san, would you mind double-checking the area's force field? The barrier energy around here is too weak for us to locate the exact spot. "

"Hai!" Tohru nodded keenly. These kind-hearted strangers are willing to help her escape and reunite with Yuki. She was definitely feeling grateful to them and pleased to be of some help even if it was just a minor task of double-checking.

"Be careful…" Yuki followed her.

"How long are you planning on carrying her?" Seiya glared displeasingly at Taiki.

"For life…" Taiki answered with a smile.

"As if I am going to allow that!" Seiya shouted back.

"Hump! Seiya is a meanie!" Usagi deliberately wrapped her arms around Taiki's neck tenderly. "I like Taiki more..."

She stuck her tongue out at Seiya again.

"You heard that?" Taiki grinned contentedly.

Suddenly, one of Seiya's knees fell helplessly to the earth. His face was down as he clinched his hairs seemingly in great pain.

"Seiya! Are you alright?" Usagi cried worriedly as she jumped off from Taiki's back and hurried towards him. It was a warning symptom; whenever his internal telekinetic energy became too overbearing for his body to handle, it will cause his brain to hurt terribly, mentally torturing him. When they were younger, this terrible effect often occurred and seeing him in pain was what she feared most.

"Seiya?! Don't scare me… Are you alright?" She gently lifted his face towards her vision, and was more than surprise to see his big grin.

"Caught you!" Seiya chuckled as his arms instantly flew around Usagi, netting her inside him.

"Eh?!"

It took Usagi several seconds to finally realize that he was just pretending to be in pain, tricking her to obediently leave Taiki's side and come to him.

"You meanie! You scare me! Evil! Evil! How dare you trick me?!" Her exclamation sounded more of a relief as she pounded her fists rapidly against his chest, trying to push him away but his grip didn't loose.

"I'm sorry… Please forgive me…" Seiya tightened the embraced and apologized in such an enchantingly sweet tone that she couldn't help but forgive him.

"Don't ever scare me like that again, you hear me?" Usagi half yelled. It was a signal to Seiya that she had forgiven him.

He grinned and nodded silently, his arms were still unwilling to let her go. Usagi had spoilt Seiya terribly ever since young. A sincere apology is all he needed to buy her forgiveness.

"Pretty smart, Seiya." Taiki praised sounding a little unpleased. "And good acting skills too."

"I was just learning from you." Seiya gazed up at Taiki with a smirk. Their eyes were seen sending spiteful electric shock into one another's till Yaten interrupted them with a loud clap.

"Will you two please postpone your love rivalling till much later?" Yaten folded his arms impatiently. "Seiya, you are up next!"

Seiya sighed and reluctantly released Usagi. His eyes wandered to the out-stretched ice wall several feet away from them. The solidified wall wasn't there initially, obviously the invisible barrier was made frozen by Yuki who was seen resting tirelessly at a corner. He had used up most of his internal energy just to freeze up as much of the force field as he could.

"Are you alright?" Tohru asked concernedly.

"I'm fine, jus a little tired." Yuki gave her hand a light squeeze.

Yaten had drawn a simple black sigil on the solid wall before placing his hand against the sign.

"Please try not to kill me, Seiya." He expressed and began chanting strange words under his voice; a ritual to temporary stopped the barrier internal energy flow.

"I will try…" Seiya relaxingly replied.

--

"_Sigil is a symbol created for a specific magic purpose. It's usually made up of a complex combination of several specific symbols or geometric figures each with a specific meaning or intent. Widely used by alchemist as transmutation. Shamans, priests and necromancers needed them for spiritual summoning or various rituals and druids for foreseeing and remote viewing." – Story Facts. _

--

"NOW!" Yaten commanded as soon as the sigil turned red.

Instantly, a strong, invisible energy rammed passed the shaman, crashed the iced barrier and destroyed the force field into shimmering pieces.

"That was easy…" Seiya commented with a grin and faced the shocked Yuki who had his mouth hung wide opened, obviously impressed by Seiya's telekinetic power.

"She's free to go." Seiya approached the couple. "But not you…" He directed his focus on Yuki. "Because from this second forth, you are officially under the Aces custody."

"Yuki Sohma, I hereby declare you as the Aces seventh member."

--

* * *

--

"Damn it! How dare he sneak out when we aren't looking?!" A middle-aged man staring at his wife flared. "Where is he, Soushiko?!"

"I couldn't perceive Yuki's location." The woman dressed in purple kimono stepped out of her huge sphere-shaped sigil. "He's probably in a place or with someone who has high capacity of resistance against my RV perception."

--

"_Remote Viewing (RV) is the purported ability for a person to gather information on a remote target that is hidden from the physical perception of the viewer and typically separated from the viewer at some distance, a form of extra-sensory perception (ESP). It should never be confused with Precognition, telepathy and Clairvoyance." –Facts._

--

"Couldn't perceive?!" His enlarged eyes expressed both shock and anger. "There are not many places or people you couldn't remote vision on... How ridiculous!"

"Cool down, Ohkawa dear." Soushiko tried soothing her husband. "He will be back. I mean, where can he go? We hardly let him know anyone and he couldn't possibly leave the country…"

"I'm certain he sneaked out to search for that lowly maid!" Ohkawa stated heatedly. "When he gets back, I will definitely give him one hell of a punishment."

"Now, now my dear. You don't have to get so heated up over a little brat defiance…"

"How could I not be?" Ohkawa stressed. "For a decade, the Sohma family was overpowered by the Kou family. It's so unforgivable! Even my ex-wife, Kumiko, betrayed me! And had an affair with the Kou's! It's only necessary to raise Yuki to become one of the country finest psychic and break the Kou's glory and dominance…"

"Yes, yes… To ease your worry, why not we send out various search parties to look around for him?" Soushiko suggested.

"Yes! I want the best search team to be sent out!" Ohkawa stated with determination. "Yuki can never escape the Sohma family!"

--

* * *

--

"Why aren't the two of you eating?" Seiya frowned at Yuki and Tohru. "My cooking doesn't suit your taste?"

"No… No... But…" Both Yuki and Tohru scrambled with their words as they continued staring confusingly at the Aces who were hungrily consuming their meal. The couple didn't quite understand what was going on. Everything just went by like a blur, besides reuniting them and rescuing Tohru from the trapped field, the Aces even declared Yuki as a member and before they knew it, they were already in the Aces district.

"Then start eating already before the foods get cold…" Seiya singling out a vegetable piece with his chopstick demanded.

"Ha…Hai…" They stared at the cuisine served before them a second longer before picking up their spoons to take a scoop.

"It's… It's delectable." They commended together and politely reached for the other dishes. It wasn't until their first swallow had they realized how hungry they actually were. All the power usage and walking had drained bundles of Yuki's energy.

"Seiya's cooking is world-class best!" Usagi cheerfully praised. "This soup is delicious! Can I have one more bowl please?"

"Hai… Hai…" Seiya took her empty bowl over and headed into the kitchen.

Despite his hunger to devour as much as he could, Yuki couldn't help but observe his lively surrounding. He watched as Minako thoughtfully removed a grain carelessly left over near Yaten's lips and he thanked her with a tender smile.

Usagi mischievously tried thieving a meatloaf off Taiki but was instantly caught red-handed. They were seen grinning slyly at one another before stabbing their forks crossover to each other's steak as they playfully fight over for an additional beef.

Haruka was silently drinking his soup with his right while holding his lecture notes on his left as he earnestly studied through his meal. Two forks flew toward his plate but instead of poking into his loafs, the forks landed onto an empty spot of the dinning table with a thump.

"This trick won't work on me twice…" Haruka smirked. With his eyes still glued onto the book, he hastily hauled his plate away from the attacking forks.

Later, Usagi's pout had brought Taiki to submissively share the remaining half of his steak with her. Her cheer and hug were interrupted by Seiya who intentionally placed her refilled soup in between them. Then, Seiya and Taiki was seen glaring at each other again as Usagi happily devour the additional steak.

Tohru smiled brightly at Yuki's light giggling. To him, the Aces interactions were fresh and delightful. Before today, Yuki was living a life just like his everyday; lonely and meaningless, with no one by his side but now, he was surrounded by jolly people dinning together with him. At home, he would either have his meals alone or with his odious parents who hardly had anything good to say. It was indeed a sad fact that Yuki secretly preferred dinning with the empty seats than his parents. The sudden thought of home had Yuki panicking. Yes! He had forgotten all about going back early to prevent suspicious. He knew he'd be in for a huge trouble if his parents were to catch his absent.

"I'm… I'm sorry… I need to get going…" Yuki's sudden shot up caught everyone's attention.

"Where do you think you are going?" Seiya in between his bites asked knowingly.

"I sneaked out from home this afternoon…" Yuki explained anxiously. "I need to get back before my parents find out…"

"What makes you think they hadn't discovered that you're missing?" Taiki finishing up his last scoop asked. "Let's see… It's 7:48 pm now. Do you know the actual percentage of them not knowing that you are gone?" He stared straight at the speechless Yuki. "It's zero."

Yuki's mind instantly went blank at Taiki's analysis. What should he do? His parents had already found out about his absent. If he was to return home now, they will definitely give him an unforgettable punishment for deceiving and sneaking out. But where can he go besides home? And what about Tohru? Where should she stay? He was more worried as to what his parents might do to her than to him. Tohru stared concernedly at her troubled lover, not knowing what she could do to help his current problems.

"You are seriously thinking about going back?" Yaten asked in disbelief. "I would rather die than to return back to that prison if I were you."

"You don't understand… My stepmother is a remote viewer. It's no use… No matter where I go, she can easily perceive my location…" Yuki stressed. "There's no place I can go to…"

"Then stay here." The four Aces spoke at once.

"What?!" Yuki stared back in disbelief.

"We said, stay here…" Seiya repeated. "We have two vacant rooms, just nice for the both of you."

This caught the couple speechless for a second or two. Are the Aces serious about this? First, they help rescued Tohru and now even offer a place for them to reside?

"I still haven't repaid you guys for helping us out this afternoon…" Yuki opposed. "There's no way I can accept anymore assist from you…"

"You are repaying us if you stay here." Seiya claimed. "And also make sure you help us win the battle tournament so that Odango won't have to repeat a grade."

_("Hey! I am not failing my written examination!' Usagi at the background exclaimed.) _

"But…" Yuki couldn't oppose to Seiya's demand considering they did so much for him. He was feeling grateful to the Aces, very grateful and wanted to repay them dearly but was this the way to?

"Let me make this very clear…" Seiya clarified. "The main reason why we aided you through today was all for the intention to have you in our team. You accepted our help, we delivered it and now you are officially under the Aces custody. You listen to my order and follow our rules. So, whether you like it or not, you are staying here. And no one is allowed to touch you besides us." His words gave Yuki a sense of security; it was his indirect declare of protection.

"But you will get yourself into whole lots of troubles if my parents find out…" Yuki protested further.

"You don't have to worry about us, Yuki-san." Taiki eased. "Despite your stepmother being a remote viewer or your parents sending out the best search squads, I can still assure you that they will not be able to locate you for today. Since the Aces District is one of the few places that block off RV perception, the two of you will definitely be safe here."

"Gomennasai minna!" It was now Tohru turn to protest. "Unlike Yuki, I can't help anyone out in anything… Everyone already did this much for a useless maid like me… I can't accept anymore of your kindness…"

"You are not useless…" Yuki argued firmly. "Don't say stuffs like that…"

"But I am a non-psychic…" Tohru persisted. "And I can't be staying here for free…"

"I will pay the rental for her…" Yuki looking back at Seiya offered. "I don't have the money with me right now, but I will definitely find ways to work for it…"

Seiya objection came a second earlier before Tohru's, "There's no need to. With Taiki around, our financial is rich enough to buy down the entire state."

"You are exaggerating things, Seiya." Taiki shook his head before directing his focus on Tohru. "Do you like doing the laundry, Tohru-san?"

"Y-yes." She nodded lightly.

"Are you good at washing the dishes?" Yaten asked as he hated cleaning up after meal.

"You can help me tidy the house." Haruka suggested.

"I would appreciate some assistance during cooking…" Seiya casually added.

"You can do my homework!" Usagi hopped in and stated keenly.

"Do your homework yourself!" The rest of them spoke in unity making Usagi pouted at their forcefulness.

"You mean?" Tohru did not understand the intentions.

"Your rental fee will be the daily chores here." Seiya clarified. "You are to help us out with the laundries, cleaning and cooking… everything except for Odango's homework."

_("Hump!" Usagi pouted at the corner.)_

"Without having to deal with all this daily chores, we can focus more on our school works and the tournament practices" Taiki convinced. "It will really do everyone good, Tohru-san…"

"Re-Really?" Tohru asked for reassurance. "I can be of some help too?"

The four Aces nodded as one.

Tohru gasped as touching tears began to blur her vision. "Th-thank you… Thank you…" She thanked frantically as Yuki caringly wiped away her tears before locking his eyes back at them. "Thank you… really, thank you… I don't know what else to say besides this…"

"Hai… Hai… We understand, we understand…" Yaten smiled as he dragged Yuki up the stairs, pleased to finally have someone washing the dishes for him. "Let me show you to your room… And Tohru-san, after you have finished cleaning up, come up too!"

--

"I can understand how you are feeling now…" Yaten abruptly spoke as they walked down the hallway. "Because they did the same for me, five years ago... Unconditionally accepted me in along with Minako and giving me the freedom I desire so much. Even till now, I wonder why they would go so far for me and I still can't thank them enough."

Yuki gazed quietly at his stepbrother. So, he had been in his shoes before; trapped away from freedom and committing a forbidden love, longing for a dream that they believed will never come true till someone came into their life and fulfilled it with them.

"They are amazing people, aren't they?"

Yaten smiled wholeheartedly at Yuki's comment, "Indeed, they are."

--

* * *

--

"Yeah! Seiya!" Usagi cheered happily. "One of our childhood dreams came true! With Yuki and Tohru-chan, all the rooms are now filled! So, there's no way the once lifeless hallway can take away your smile anymore."

Seiya was taken aback by her statement, "It had been nine years but you still remembered?"

"I can never forget _or forgive_ anything that took away your smile." Usagi replied with a nod. "I remembered your first word, your first smile, our first sunrise, our first birthdays together, the first time you lost control of your power, the first meal you cook for me, the first time you called me by my real name…and…"

Seiya affectionately placed his finger over her lips, instantly stopping her from continuing. His dark blue eyes were filled with appreciation, "All these years…I've always wanted to say this..." He leaned and breathed into her ears. "Thank you… Thank you for everything, Odango."

"And our first goodbye…" Usagi added reactively upon recalling his exact gratitude five years ago.

"It's the last too…" Seiya smiled sweetly making Usagi blushed a little.

"Hai!" She nodded keenly.

"_Do you know that to be with you is one of my dreams too? I can never allow anymore goodbyes." _

_--_


	10. Happiness and Unhappiness

--

**Happiness and Unhappiness**

--

On the high roof, a pair of six years old twin was seen holding hands as they waited for the coming dawn.

"Akatsuki, everybody said that we are important…" the brunette asked her blonde twin. "But why isn't there anyone willing to be our friend?"

"No, Yuumei..." Akatsuki answered back with a bright smile. "We do have a friend..."

"Eh? Who?" Yuumei staring confusingly into her sister sky-blue eyes asked.

"The Sun." Akatsuki replied smoothly as she gazed straight at the rising sun. "It's a friend that will never leave or abandon us no matter what…"

Yuumei smiled pleasingly at her sister response. "I will never leave you too, Akatsuki."

The little blonde glimpsed back happily at her brunette twin. "Hai! Nothing is ever separating us! When there's Akatsuki there will definitely be Yuumei!"

--

"_Akatsuki means Dawn, while Yuumei means Dusk." Japanese translation._

_--_

"It's our promise!" Against the sunrise, the twin locked their pinkies tightly together. "Nothing is going to do us apart."

--

* * *

--

"Odango, I can't see anything…" The little Usagi had blindfolded Seiya with her hands as she slowly led him down the stairs.

"It won't be a surprise if you see it." She affirmed with a giggle. "Careful… a step at a time…"

"But, it's tough to walk like this…" Seiya was having a difficult time climbing down the stairs with Usagi hands covering his eyes from behind.

"Don't worry, we are very close… just a few more steps…" Usagi convinced lightly, her fingers still over his eyelids locking them shut. "A little to your right, careful the chair… now left…" she directed him through the living room and finally stopped at her planned spot.

"You can open your eyes now." She removed her fingers from his eyes.

"Why is there a cake here?" Seiya glanced confusingly down at a decorative birthday cake.

"Eh? That's because it's your birthday today, silly!" Usagi gave Seiya a surprise look before smiling cheerily back at him.

"My birthday?" Seiya tilled his head to the side curious to know what's a birthday was. No one had organized a birthday celebration for him before. He didn't even know about his actual birth date and was more than surprise that Usagi actually knew.

"Hai! Your tenth birthday!" Usagi nodded with a big grin before reaching into her pocket for a small lighter. Seiya watched silently as she carefully lights the ten candles situated around the chocolate cake. The candles were seen glowing brightly in the dark room as Usagi began clapping and singing much to Seiya's surprise, "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to Seiya, happy birthday to you!"

The little Seiya stared awkwardly at the singing Usagi. He couldn't quite absorb the things she had done; the ornamental cake, the lighting of the candles and the birthday song but the beautiful smile drawn across her lovely face lightened him. Though he didn't know the reason for her grin, the smile suited her well enough to make him feeling really delighted for the first time on his birthday.

"Don't just stare at me…" Usagi who was still holding onto her grin exclaimed. "Make a wish!"

"A wish?" Seiya cocked his head slightly out of confusion.

"Hai, hai!" Usagi nodded without further explanation.

Seiya turned his attention back down to the lighted cake not knowing what he actually desire or long for. Looking back at his life, he had nothing to look forward to in his dailies till Usagi came about and created a world for him. She taught him to smile, to laugh, to frown and most importantly to live. He felt alive whenever she was around. Her bright smile never failed to draw his lips to curve along with hers and her calls gave a flawless chime to his name. He wanted and needed nothing else except for her to continue smiling around him.

"I wish that Odango will stay by me forever…" The little Seiya wished out loud making Usagi widened her eyes in absolute surprise.

"Eh? Seiya! You can't tell me your wish or it won't come true!" She gasped with a faint blush.

"Eh?! My wish won't come true?!" A very worried look flashed across Seiya's face instantly. "What… What should I do?" His eyes saddened to a near tear expression. "You can't stay by me forever?"

"Eh?! Seiya… Don't cry! Don't cry!" Usagi was feeling really desperate over seeing his sudden grief. "It's not good to be crying on your birthday!" She eagerly tried comforting him but failed miserably. The little brunet was already sniffing lightly due to the escaping tears.

"But you told me that my wish won't come true…" Seiya innocently wiping his tears away with both hands cried. He didn't understand how the tears in his eyes were formed; he hadn't cried before not after his isolation and this emotion called unhappiness was new to him. Something sharp was stinging his heart and crashing his lungs internally, and he had absolutely no clue on how to ease the extreme pain.

Then, he felt two delicate arms gently wrapped themselves around his shoulders, drawing him closer into comforting warmth.

"Don't cry…"

His sniffs softened as Usagi caringly strokes his head, soothing his cries. The little blonde then placed both her hands on his cheeks raising his head so she was looking into his teary eyes. She realized the tears had trailed down his cheeks and landed onto her shirt. Though Usagi noted that his midnight eyes looked twice as beautiful against those tears, she didn't like seeing him sad. Strangely, his grief took away her cheerfulness and had her feeling this long lost feeling all over again, a feeling known as sadness. She never thought she could experience this unpleasantness again, not after what she had endured in her past. She had been through so much pain till nothing hurts anymore, permanently numbed from it.

Then, to his surprise, he saw her gradually closing in as she gently pressed her lips against his left eye. "I will make your wish come true… so… don't cry…"

"Re-really?" Seiya whispered while gazing back into her sky-blue eyes. Something about her words and the way she said them eased his internal ache making him feeling normal all over again.

"Hai!" Usagi gave him a convincing nod and smile. "Oh! Oh!" She released him urgently upon remembering something important. "Blow the candles! You got to blow the candles!"

Seiya reactively turned his focus back to his birthday cake. He realized that the candles had gotten shorter with their wax smudging all around the baked mass.

"Blow them! Blow them!" Usagi urged him.

He gave the lighted candles a final stare before leaning slightly down and extinguished them with a single blow.

"What should I do now?" Seiya asked the clapping Usagi for indication.

"Now comes the best part!" Usagi cheered and directed a plastic knife into his small hand. "You cut the cake and we eat it!"

Seiya nodded obediently before carefully dealing the first slice down the chocolate cake. After dividing each others shares, the little couple spent their next several minutes happily dining the pieces.

"Seiya! There's a little chocolate cream on the right side of your cheek…" But before Seiya could even react, Usagi had already wiped the stain off his soft cheek with her little thumb.

"Yummy!" She grinned as she licked the cream on her thumb.

Seiya stared back at Usagi with a blush before deciding to copy her previous action. He abruptly leaned forward and slid his thumb against her left cheek, carefully removing the left-over chocolate coating and tasting it by licking his creamy-filled thumb.

Usagi flashed a soft red at his imitation and giggled lightly. "You are so adorable…" she couldn't help but complimented in between her giggling.

"Adorable?" Seiya questioned, his head slightly tilled to his right obviously not understanding its definition. No one had used this term on him before. He was used to being called a monster or a demon-child, anything except adorable.

"Hai!" Usagi affectionately placed both her hands against his warm cheeks and gazed smilingly into his dark-blue eyes. "Adorable means attractive, charming, likeable, loveable!"

The moment she free her hands from his cheeks, all that was left was a thick red colour coating. His heart was beating so loudly till he couldn't hear what Usagi was murmuring under her tone as she disappeared hurriedly up the stairs without a warning.

He got up, tempting to follow but an immediate shout from her stopped his motion. "Don't come up! Just stay right there! I will be down shortly!"

The little Seiya reluctantly obeyed and sat back down. He wrapped his arms around his knees as he waited impatiently for Usagi to get back down. He was feeling uneasy all over. The quietness bothered him and the spacious living room without her presence seemed dead. A year ago, he saw no problem with such lifeless, but it was different now. He could actually feel the feeling of loneliness after tasting the wonderful presence of companionship. The little boy impulsively buried his head inside himself not wanting to stare at the empty living room.

As soon as he did, he felt something warm and fuzzy wrapped around his neck. He shot up, his eyes widened with shock for a split second until he realized that the only person who would be in the house was none other than Usagi. He looked up staring into her happy crystal-blue orbs.

"Happy birthday Seiya!" Usagi exclaimed with a bright smile across her face. "I made it for you as a birthday gift!"

"Birthday gift?" He grabbed onto the soft end of the knitted scarf that was winded around his neck and stared seriously at it. Using both his touch and sight, he investigated the scarf for a moment longer before realizing that the carefully knitted wool was obviously hand made.

"You made this for me?" Seiya gazing back up at the smiling Usagi asked in both shock and joy.

"Hai!" Usagi declared with a nod. "Do you like it? I know it was badly done… I am new at knitting…" she stuck her tongue out embarrassingly.

"No! No…" Seiya waved his hands in front of him as he showed his objection. "It's beautiful… I love it… Thank you… Thank you…" His lips naturally curved up into a charming smile which made Usagi beamed joyfully at his lovely, rare grin. Her smile widened another time when she saw him wrapped the dark blue scarf tighter around his neck as if he was afraid that someone might appear out of the blue and steal it away from him.

Once again, he ran his fingers and eyes down its fabric, admiring the scarf. He noted her huge thoughtfulness into making it; from choosing the scarf colour that matched his midnight eyes, to knitting his name at the very bottom corner. To Seiya, his first birthday gift was flawless. No! Way beyond perfect!

Usagi couldn't help but smile delightfully, obviously happy that he liked the scarf but little did she knew, that it would become something that Seiya would treasure for the rest of his life.

--

* * *

--

"Taiki, here is your bottle of orange juice, two handmade sandwiches and a homemade apple pie!" Usagi smiled widely as she took out the prepared food from her picnic basket, placing them on the table, in front of the grinning Taiki.

"Let me confirm…" Taiki folded his arms knowingly. "You prepared this meal for me to show your gratitude?"

"Hai!" Usagi grinned widely as she clapped her hands together. "Thank you so much for finding out Seiya's birthday for me and teaching me how to knit! I owe a lot to your helpfulness and kindness!"

"You sure did." Taiki smirked. "You should know that I am not satisfied with just a meal or two…"

"It's alright! I will do anything to repay you!" Usagi smiled.

"Really?" Taiki questioned his tone deepened with seriousness.

"Hai!" Usagi nodded keenly.

"Even if I ask you to leave Seiya-san?" Taiki asked half-jokingly.

Usagi eyes widened with shock and her jaw dropped open with no words channelling out from its emptiness. She managed to close it back upon hearing Taiki's light giggling, "I was only joking… You don't have to look so overwhelmed by it…"

Usagi let out a sigh of relief. "I was afraid you actually meant it…"

"_I did… partially…"_ Taiki thought deeply. "Is Seiya that important to you?"

He was now staring straight at Usagi who had suddenly turned quiet. An awkward silence filled the air as the genius earnestly tried studying and analyzing the blonde before him. She just sat there with her usual smile but was strangely quiet. Why the silence treatment? Shouldn't she be answering a 'Yes' already? It was his first time experiencing a disability to perceive a person thought.

"Being with Seiya, I actually felt sadness for the first time…"

Taiki's eyes enlarged with surprise at Usagi's words. What was she saying? Wasn't she happy being with him? He watched as she shook her head gently in disbelief. For once, the genius did not understand what she was trying to imply.

"Neh, Taiki…" Usagi looked back up at him with a light grin. "Oji-san (grandfather) once told me that in order to receive a certain amount of happiness one has to experience the equal amount of unhappiness. It's like a fair payment, the more unhappiness you endure, the more happiness will be returned. But what exactly is happiness? What exactly is unhappiness?"

"Usagi…" For the first time, Taiki actually feeling helpless from coming up with an appropriate response. Like her, feeling of happiness wasn't something he was knowledgeable about.

"But, I found my answer last night." Usagi continued still holding onto her smile. "I actually felt alive for the first time, just by being with him…"

She then paused for a second or two before scratching her head with a rather big grin of embarrassment. "Gomen neh! I've talk too much… I must have bored you…"

"No, you didn't!" Taiki abruptly stood up and affirmed back strongly. His loud exclaim had caught the entire cafeteria's attention. "I'm sorry for overreacting." With a thin blush coating his cheeks, he apologized sincerely to Usagi before sitting back down.

"It's ok! You don't have to apologize, Taiki." Usagi smiled sweetly back before clapping her hands happily. "Let's start our lunch, shall we? I am starving!"

Taiki watched silently as Usagi hungrily munched her sandwiches. "Thank you… Usagi…"

"Eh?" Usagi stopped chewing, not getting what his gratitude was regarding.

"Thanks for sharing your deepest feelings with me..." Taiki smiled contentedly. He was happy to finally get to understand and know her by a bit more. "It makes me feel somewhat important…"

"Baka…"

Taiki was surprised to hear Usagi's soft giggling and the fact that she was calling him stupid again. "You are never just somewhat important…" She peered sincerely into his pair of soft violet eyes.

"Neh… To me, you are really important…"

--

* * *

--

The little Seiya was alone in his room as he made another quick glance at the digital clock by his bedside table. Only an hour had passed since he last reached home. Seiya had lost count of the number of time he glimpsed at the clock while waiting for Usagi to get back; which won't be anytime soon since she normally won't be back before sunset. He was at his gloomiest during the waiting period and time always seemed to crawl by real slowly whenever she wasn't around. He anticipated so much for his room door to open, a blonde head to pop up with the brightest smile ever, magically lifting all his sadness away.

Seiya reactively glanced at the clock once more before slipping a key into the lock of his bedside cabinet. He turned the key, unlocking the upper drawer and withdrew a dark blue scarf. He smiled lovingly at it before wrapping the scarf around his neck enjoying its warmth and softness before carefully removing the scarf, treating it like a precious newborn for he did not wish to ruin the gift Usagi had made for him

He gently folded and slipped the scarf back into the cabinet upon hearing a door chime. He hurriedly rushed out of his room and down the stairs, believing it was Usagi who came back home early from school and forgetting her keys as usual. It can't be anybody else besides her since the maids and chief were off-duty and left an hour ago. He happily gripped the door handle, unlocked it, and pulled it open…

"Odan…" Seiya paused as standing by the entrance was not Usagi but a middle-aged woman with her long black hair tied up behind her head.

"Seiya…" the stranger called out his name softly as she reached out her hand to him. The little brunet promptly stepped back, distancing his gap with her. He saw the woman softening her gaze at him, "Do you not remember me?"

Seiya continued staring at her oddly as nothing seemed to be registering in his head right now. He felt that he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where or who she was. The woman moved closer towards him, "It's me… Okaasan (Mother)"

Seiya froze, unable to react for a second or two. _"Okaasan?"_ He shook his head in disbelief as he took a few steps back from the woman. Why was she here? Why did she appear before him again after abandoning him years back? What does this so-called 'Mother' want from him now?

"We are here to take you home, Seiya…"

"Atoko! What's taking you so long?!" An impatient man appearing from behind the woman urged furiously. "Stop wasting my time and take him already!"

Seiya found himself shivering slightly at the sight and voice of the angry man. He recognized his deep tone; it was the voice that haunted him for years, even up to his present. The man glared displeasingly at Seiya sending an obvious message of hatred into the little boy's heart.

"Tanaka, please don't sound so harsh…" Atoko stressed. "You are scaring him…"

"You are the one who pleaded me to come, Atoko!" Tanaka shouted. "I seriously don't understand why you would even bother caring for a child like him! You took him out of isolation without my consent and even gave him this house?! Now, you want to bring him back with us?! It's like bringing back a time bomb! He might kill us anytime like how he did to our relatives four years ago!"

As Tanaka yelled those words, Seiya could feel a sharp chill of pain pierced through his heart and his head began to hurt slightly…

"Tanaka! Please! Stop saying such things in front of him!" Atoko exclaimed in dismay. "How could you be so cruel?! He's… He's our son!"

"He's a MONSTER!!" Tanaka pointed straight down at Seiya.

"No… No! I'm not!" The little Seiya shook his head frantically, his hands clinched onto his head in pain. "I'm not… I'm not!"

"You are!" Tanaka shot back. "Do you know how much I have to suffer in the society just because of you?! How much pressure and stress you caused me?! And it's all because of you! You MONSTER! MURDER!! We shouldn't have given birth to you! HOW I WISH YOU WEREN'T EVEN BORN!"

Tanaka last sentence shot a huge emotional blast into the little boy's heart. His whole world froze, his mind went blank, and his vision darkened. Suddenly, an overwhelming telekinetic energy exploded from his within, sending furniture, tableware, electronic equipments and every available accessory in the living room flying back, crashing the windows and destroying the entire room.

"I told you he was dangerous!" Tanaka activating his PK power prevented any flying items from crashing onto him and Atoko.

"Seiya!" Atoko tried closing onto the little boy who was now grasping onto his hairs while crouching down on his knees.

"Are you crazy?!" Tanako grabbed onto his wife's wrist shouted. "You will die if you go near him! Let's get out of here!" The father desperately pulled the distressed mother out of the house, leaving the suffering boy all alone in the ruin.

In the open, a little blonde was happily strolling down the usual pathway that led her to a Victorian-built bungalow. She stopped her step when she glimpsed two adults dashing out from the house's main door.

"_Who are they?" _Usagi watched as the man harshly forced the woman into a black BMW before the driver made a hasty start and speed passed her.

She instinctively picked up her speed and rushed through the remaining footpath, passed by the big garden and stopped at the main door that was left slightly ajar.

"Seiya…?" Usagi gave the door a gentle push. It opened real slowly and silently revealing a ruined living room. Her eyes wandered shockingly around, not recognizing the place. Windows were smashed, furniture were overturned and destroyed, the floor was in a dreadful mess and various room objects were flying everywhere.

"Seiya! Seiya!" Usagi called aloud as she tried closing into the living room but was forcefully pushed back by a powerful force. She landed onto the floor with a loud thump but immediately got back up.

"Seiya! Where are you?!" Her mind was going crazy with worries. What actually happened here? Why is there an invisible force preventing her from entering? But most importantly, is Seiya alright?

"Answer me, Seiya!" She cried out as she made another attempt to break through the force while trying to avoid any flying objects from hitting her.

There was still no answer but she heard cries, soft sniffing cries. Her attention flew to a huge turnover couch, and situated behind it was a crouching brunet. He had his head buried inside his knees and hands wrapped on top of his head. He was shivering and crying apparently in great pain.

"Seiya…" Usagi instantly tried taking a step closer, but was once again force back.

"Go away… Go away!" she heard him cried. "I don't want to hurt you… Go away!"

"What are you saying?" Usagi voice softened, sounding a little grief. She could feel it, the slight pinch of sadness as she continued gazing at him. He still wasn't looking up and hadn't stopped his shivering.

"I said go away! Go away! I will hurt you! I am dangerous! I will hurt you…"

"Baka! Don't say such things!" Usagi yelled across. "You are not dangerous! You can't hurt me!"

"I am…! I am dangerous!" Seiya choked in between his cries. "I am a monster! I wasn't even supposed to be born! Why? Why? I tried to be good… I tried to be good… I really did! But still, no one wants me… no one… everyone is the same… They will abandon me in the end!"

"I will never abandon you!" Usagi insisted.

"Liar!" Seiya exclaimed aloud. "After I've hurt you, you will abandon me! Just like everyone else…"

There was a moment of silence and only Seiya's sniffing could be heard. He didn't want to look up, not wanting to see the sight of Usagi leaving him. He knew she would eventually give up and leave since there was no way anyone could break through his telekinetic barrier. And he will be all alone again, just like before…

All of the sudden, Seiya couldn't feel his mind aching anymore. His cold and dreadful surrounding was replaced by welcoming warmth as two familiar hands gently wrapped themselves around him.

"_Didn't she say before? That she will never leave you…"_

His eyes shot wide opened as he shockingly lifted his face up. Seiya found himself staring into a pair of black eyes. He peered astonishingly at the smiling girl before him who had her long black hair tied up into two neat buns. Strangely, he looked exactly like Usagi. _"Now…" _She put her fingers over his eyelids sliding them shut. _"Go back to reality… Go back to her…"_

Once the fingers were removed, Seiya could feel warmth all over again.

"Baka… Didn't I say before? That I will never leave you…"

Seiya shifted his head up towards the girl who was embracing him tightly.

"Od…Odango…" he gazed disbelievingly into her wide blue eyes. Usagi tenderly pulled him back into her arms, securing him against her chest. "I will never abandon you… No matter what happens… I will never leave you…"

Seiya grasped onto her uniform upon hearing those words. "Why? Aren't you afraid of me? I am a murder… a monster… I might…"

"If you are a murder or a monster… then I am one too…" Usagi interrupted with a faint smile. Seiya glanced back up at her not understanding her words, but before he could questioned further, he noted that her uniform was badly torn and her body was covered with fresh bruises and cuts.

"You… You are injured!"

"I am?!" Usagi began scanning through herself, finally noticing the wounds throughout her body.

"I am injured!" She exclaimed slowly and surprisingly.

Earlier, her strong desire to break through his powerful telekinetic force had Usagi forgetting about everything, including her well-being and physical pain. She wasn't even sure how she managed to encroach into his overbearing PK zone and now that everything was over, she could feel the pain slowly taking over her body.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, Usagi… I'm sorry…" Seiya held the most remorse look on his face as he apologized frantically in tears. He was feeling his worse grief ever, seeing her injuries and knowing that he was the one who caused it inflicted such an unbearable pain in him that he wanted so badly to stab himself with a knife to end the internal torment. Usagi listened to his earnest apologies for a second longer before placing her fingers over his lips, stopping his apology.

"You called my name…" Usagi smiled sweetly at Seiya, making him blush a little. "There's nothing to apologize for… It's just minor injuries…"

She raised her arms high up in hyper mode. "I am a strong girl neh! Injuries like this are nothing!"

"Doctor… Doctor…" Seiya stumbled with his words. "Go doctor…"

"No… No… There's no need to…" Usagi waved her hands in front of herself showing her objection. The last thing she ever wanted to do now was to see a doctor. She didn't want anyone questioning about her injuries and blaming Seiya for it. But most importantly, she couldn't afford any of these to reach her grandfather's ears knowing he will definitely make a big fuss about it.

"Go doctor!" Seiya persisted, his eyes widened with insistence.

Usagi sighed quietly knowing that there was no way she could avoid not seeing one. Her arms and legs were covered with scratches and she couldn't possibly go anywhere without treating her wounds first. What a headache. Visiting a doctor other than her family's was as bad as not getting treated at all. What if they start digging into her medical history and unintentionally know about her past? That will be the worse case scenario. Now, not only was her body aching terribly, her head hurt badly from all those thoughts and worries. She hated thinking. It just wasn't her strength to come up with an appropriate solution. She wasn't a genius with quick-thinking skills or one who knows everything.

"_Genius?!"_

Then, an idea suddenly hit her. "I know a really good doctor…" She grinned happily back at Seiya who was seen creasing his forehead slightly with confusion.

--

* * *

--

"Heeee… Sorry to trouble you, Taiki." Usagi grinned embarrassingly at the boy who was treating her wounds.

"No problem." Taiki answered back in a mono-tone. He was trying his best to suppress his anger on Seiya for causing all these injuries to her as he skilfully bandages her left hand.

"I'm sorry…" Seiya watching worriedly at how Taiki treated Usagi's wound apologized again.

"You better be…" Taiki glared heatedly at Seiya for a second, immediately looking back at Usagi as soon as he felt her kicking him lightly from beneath the table. She shook her head slightly with a frown signifying him not to blame Seiya. The little genius displeasingly turned his focus back on wrapping her wounds.

"I don't want to hear anymore apology, Seiya." Usagi stressed before giving him a bright smile. "Don't worry… I'm alright… It doesn't hurt… E…Daiii(It hurts!)" Usagi glanced painfully back at Taiki who had just apply some liquid medication on her cuts.

"I thought you said it doesn't hurt?" Taiki subjected knowingly. It's impossible that injuries like hers aren't painful. Though the cuts weren't deep and she needed no stitches, they were still painful to look at and it further surprised Taiki that Usagi could still smile happily in her current condition.

"This might sting a little…" Taiki warned as he carefully applied a layer of invisible fluid onto her open wound making Usagi jerked a little at the scorching pain. Seiya watched in agony as Taiki finished treating her left arm by bandaging it up securely. He was mentally blaming and scolding himself for all that was done to her, and the worse part was that he couldn't be of any help besides watching someone else treats her wounds.

"Neh! Seiya…" Usagi with intention requested. "Could you get me a glass of water please? I am feeling really thirsty…"

The little Seiya nodded keenly as he rushed out of the guestroom, closing the door lightly behind him.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your injuries…" Taiki knowing Usagi's intention for sending Seiya away said.

"Taiki! You are such a genius and such a great friend!" Usagi praised with a wide grin and eyes of appreciation.

"But on one condition." Taiki continued, his eyes still focusing on pinning the bandages into place. "Stop staying with Seiya-san."

"Eh?! That's unreasonable, Taiki…" Usagi opposed with eyes of shock.

"I am being reasonable!" Taiki asserted back firmly. "Look at what he had done to you! Why can't you just understand how dangerous he actually is?! Everyday, I worry for you, Usagi! I don't want to see you get injure again or even die because of him! Can't you understand my worries…?" He finished with a distress look.

"Gomen neh, Taiki…" Usagi smiled faintly back at him. "I didn't mean to worry you… Gomen neh…" She apologized sincerely with a slight bow before looking back at him. "Don't blame Seiya… It wasn't his fault, really… It wasn't… He was just being honest and there's nothing dangerous about him…"

"I don't understand you, Usagi…" Taiki shook his head in disbelief. "After all that he had done to you, you are still defending him? Why? Why…?"

"I am not defending him." Usagi responded back calmly. "I was just stating the fact…"

"The fact? The fact is that he's dangerous!" Taiki shot up and exclaimed. "That he might really kill you the next time round!"

"You don't understand, Taiki…" Usagi shook her head lightly. "Seiya is not the dangerous one here…" She gazed back at him seriously. "I am…"

"Wh-What do you mean?" Taiki was taken aback by her response.

"Like I said, Seiya was just being honest…" Usagi explained mysteriously. "Unlike him, I am a hypocrite…"

But before Taiki could further question her, she abruptly smiled back brightly. "Don't worry, Taiki!" Usagi was back to her usual cheerful tone. "I am a strong girl! Nothing can hurt or kill me!"

Then, they heard the room door opened with a click as Seiya entered holding a tray of teacups.

"Thank you, Seiya!" Usagi cheerfully took a cup.

"Here." Seiya offered the other cup to Taiki, hastily placing it down in front of him.

"Thanks…" Taiki reluctantly accepted, obviously still holding grudges against Seiya.

"I'm changing my condition." Taiki gazed over to Usagi who was seen blowing her tea in an attempt to cool it down.

"Eh?!" Usagi tilling her head slightly as she tried to interpret his words.

"I am moving in tomorrow…" Taiki's sudden declaration had Usagi almost spilling her cup of tea and Seiya taking a step back from shock.

"Wh-What?!" Usagi exclaimed in absolute surprise. "You are moving in?!"

"Yes…" Taiki nodded with a serious expression. "From tomorrow onwards, I will be staying here."

He turned and glared at Seiya. "You have no objection right? Considering I have to monitor Usagi's injuries…"

Much to Seiya's displease, he couldn't oppose to Taiki's motive to reside under the same roof with them since it was only reasonable to have someone monitoring Usagi's condition every now and then which more or less eased Seiya's worries. From what Usagi had told him, this little genius holds a doctorate in medical and since she trusted him so much, Seiya couldn't see any reason for him to be against his reside.

On the other hand, Taiki had his own personal intention for wanting to move in. Of course, to supervise Usagi's injuries was one of the reasons but most importantly, he wanted to watch over her as much as he could in fear that Seiya might unintentionally hurt her again. He knows Usagi long enough to understand her stubbornness. It was impossible for him or anyone to persuade her to leave Seiya and since she insisted on staying with him, then he will too. This genius was going to make sure that things like these will never happen again in the future since he would rather die than to see her get injured again.

"Yeah! I am so happy!" Usagi cheered joyfully not getting both Seiya's and Taiki's thoughts. "Taiki is living with us! We are going to have so much fun together!" She smiled merrily at her two friends as they returned her with a small grin.

--

* * *

--

The little Usagi entered her room, quietly shutting the door behind her. The soft click of the lock sounded, signalling the end of any disturbance from the outside. She progressively walked towards the upper-right corner of her room where a full-length mirror silently stood.

"Gomen neh, Yuumei…" Usagi gazed at her reverse-image who was seen smiling warmly back at her. Like Usagi, she was also covered with bandages.

"Did it hurt a lot?" She asked her black reflection as she gently touched the mirror surface.

Her brunette image shook her head calmly.

Usagi smiled faintly, "Gomen neh… I wasn't thinking when I tried breaking through the opposing energy this evening and I've forgotten to be careful since we share the same body… Gomen neh, Yuumei. Will you forgive me?"

Her reverse reflection nodded with a sweet grin.

"You are not blaming Seiya too, are you?" Usagi asked desperately, "It was not his fault… It really wasn't!"

Her black-haired twin was seen giggling before she took a step out of the mirror. She then securely held onto Usagi's hands and smiled soothingly. Then a recognizable voice was heard speaking to her mentally.

"_I know… Don't worry. I am not blaming him…"_

"Thank you, Yuumei…" Usagi smiled happily before embracing her other half. "Neh… Yuumei… Do you still feel lonely being away from your body?"

Yuumei shook her head lightly. _"I can never feel lonely as long as I am with you, Atakasuki. Didn't we promise that we will be together forever? Nothing is ever parting us right?" _

"Hai…" Usagi nodded with agreed. "But I am still not allowing Otou-san(Father) to hold onto your body forever. When I grow up, I will definitely get it back for you."

"_Baka…"_ Yummei pulled her sister away and gazed seriously at her. _"You know very well that they are after our power… What if they catch you? All your effort will go in a waste then…" _

"You know very well too that you are not dead yet, Yuumei…" Usagi replied back seriously. "I can't allow your body to be forever trapped under their custody and I don't mind killing whoever that stands in our way, just like two years ago."

"_Killing doesn't suit you, Atakasuki…"_ Yuumei shook her head gently in disagreement.

"Staying in my conscious doesn't suit you either, Yuumei…" Usagi replied with a grin. "Besides, I can't feel anything. Even when killing, I am emotionless…"

"_That's not true…"_ Yuumei objected with a small grin. _"I sensed your sadness whenever he's in pain… like yesterday and today…"_

"Strange neh?" Usagi scratched her head while sticking out her tongue. "I don't understand why either… Heeee… but I am not thinking too much, my brain always hurt when I think too much…"

"_Me too."_ Her twin giggled back embarrassingly. _"My head hurts when I read too much of your thoughts."_

"Neh… Neh!" Usagi was jumping up and down happily. "Taiki is moving in and staying with us from tomorrow onwards! I'm so excited! It will be so…" She stressed the last word in joy. "So FUN!!"

Yuumei jumped ecstatically along with her sister. "_I'm sure it will!"_

Then, the pair of twin was seen gazing enthusiastically at one another, each holding onto the similar bright smile.

--


	11. Return of the Invisible

--

**Return of the Invisible**

--

A highly status, middle-aged man entered the spacious, high-technological laboratory with his four formally-dressed bodyguards. All scientists and researches immediately stopped their work, greeting the Shinigami, the founder and leader of Satan, with a respectful bow. "Saiga-kamisama…"

--

"_Kamisama means the Great God." – Japanese translation_

"_Shinigami means the Grim Reaper; literally the God of Death or Death God." – Japanese translation and personification of death._

--

"Kuro, how's my precious daughter doing?" Saiga headed for a human-sized, vertical, transparent tube.

Inside the clear fluid contained a nude brunette. Her motionless body remained suspended in the liquid with a number of IV's hooked into her arms and head, along with an additional inhaler forced in her mouth. She had her eyes closed and body slightly curved into a ball. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, covering her breasts and her bare exterior. Despite being inactive, the pretty teenage was seemingly alive as carbon dioxide bubbles were seen escaping through her inhaler every so often.

"No worries, Saiga-kamisama. Yuumei's body condition is very stable." Kuro reported, checking the medical report.

"How about the other one?" Saiga looking up at the body of Yuumei's asked.

"She was last seen returning to the Psychical State." Kuro accounted. "The country security is pretty high therefore our acquaintances couldn't obtain any further information. But, I had already come up with a perfect plan to get hold of her."

"You know very well that I don't allow failure, Kuro." Saiga warned severely.

"Yes, of course, Saiga-kamisama…" Kuro shivered lightly at his superior's warning. He knew perfectly well about the frightening outcome if one failed to meet his expectation and will do anything to avoid suffering such a despicable fate. "Unlike them, I'll definitely succeed on bringing her back to you."

"Very well…" The superior man focused his attention back on the girl entrapped in the tube. He grinned confidently, "You will return back to Daddy real soon…"

--

* * *

--

"Yuki!! Yuki!!" Yaten was shouting at the top of his voice as he rapidly banged on his stepbrother's bedroom door.

"He's still not awake?" Taiki exiting his room while putting on his school coat asked.

"I have been knocking on his front door for the past 15 minutes…" Yaten was getting impatient. "And there is still no response. Is he even in there?"

"I'm sorry. Yuki really isn't a morning person…" Tohru appearing from the stairs explained. "It usually takes quite a while for him to wake up and he tends to sleepwalk a lot, especially in the morning…"

"That explains why he often misses school." Taiki commented. "And to think waking Usagi from her afternoon nap was hard enough..."

"I ca… her… you!!" Usagi climbing up the stairs while biting onto a hot toast mumbled unclearly. "Breas…fes… is… redea…"

"Huh?" Yaten cocked his head in an attempt to catch her imprecise muttering.

"She was trying to say, breakfast is ready." Taiki corrected.

Usagi gave him a thumb up before disappearing down the stairs while chewing onto her bread.

"What about Yuki?" Yaten sighed, intending to give up on waking his stepbrother.

"Please go ahead with breakfast first..." Tohru offered with a smile. "I will wake him."

"Thank you. We will leave Yuki to you then." Both Yaten and Taiki grinned with gratitude before proceeding down for their early breakfast.

After fifteen long minutes, the half-awake Yuki finally made his first appearance in the dinning room. He stood perfunctorily before them, with his untidily attired uniform and messy hair. Despite how scrumptious the scene was, sleepiness still overwhelmed him. He wasn't even completely sure that he was awake as he glanced at the Aces seated before him. Some of them were seen staring displeasingly back at him while the others were busy finishing their cereals.

This unfamiliar scene could have been another dream for all Yuki knew, or maybe, this was one of those sleepwalking adventures he often found himself in. Either way, if he wasn't sleeping at the moment, he was positive he would be falling into a slumber again soon enough.

"Wow, he can sleep while standing… pretty amazing isn't he?" Seiya folded his arm said in sarcasm.

"I give up…" Yaten sighed as he finished his cereal. "Taiki, will you please think of a way to wake him up fast? Our chauffeur will be arriving in another fifteen minutes time…"

"Thank you for the meal." The genius finished off by politely wiping his lips with a napkin. He stood up, approached the half-asleep Yuki and whispered sharply into his ear, "Good morning, Ohkawa-sama, Soushiko-sama."

Yuki's eyes instantly shot open at the mention of his parents' names. "Good morning, Father, Mother…" He automatically did a bent over before the seated Aces making the entire group burst out laughing at his unexpected action. Their hilarious laughter had Yuki looking back up, finally realizing that it was not a dream.

He was free, away from the Sohma's domain and was really living with the infamous Aces.

It took Yuki several more seconds to finally understand the embarrassing action he had previously done. He humiliatingly glanced away and his cheeks were burning red from embarrassment. They must think he was a complete idiot for committing such a ridiculous act since none had stop their laughter yet. Even the well-reserved Minako and Tohru were heard giggling under their breath.

"Good morning, Son…" Taiki chuckled lightly as he patted Yuki on his head much to his displease.

"Very well, son…" Seiya played along. "You only have ten minutes to finish your breakfast before our chauffeur arrives. So make it snappy!"

"I don't want you to be late for school, son!" Usagi acted strict. "And what's with the messy hair? I want it comb immediately! And your shirt! Button it properly…" The rest of the group excluding the annoyed Yuki was giggling hilariously at her motherly act.

"Don't be so harsh on our son, dear…" Seiya continued the father role. "Yuki is a big boy. He knows how to take care of himself."

"Ahem! I am the father here …" Taiki corrected Seiya.

"Odango and I make better parents…" Seiya argued back and the two boys were seen glaring at each other again.

It was now Yuki's turn to chuckle at their love-rivaling as he hurriedly devoured his breakfast. Life was supposed to be like this, filled with laughs and love. Not how his was previously. Loneliness should never be the most vivid emotion a person remembered experiencing at home. He liked this living arrangement, the Aces were like a big happy family; filled with promising joy and warmth. Their every word, every gaze and interaction were sealed with pure likeness and care; loyal comrades who Yuki once believed that he could never encounter. But, there he was, surrounded by these hopeful companions, along with his love. They had Yuki believing that his life can never be more blissful than how it was now.

"Hurry up, Son!!" Yaten and Haruka called out to Yuki from the front entrance. "We are leaving you behind!!"

Yuki rolled his eyes but immediately got up and gave Tohru a quick peck on her forehead.

"Have a safe trip." She blushed and waved at him.

Yuki nodded with a gentle smile and exited the house.

--

* * *

--

By the time the Aces arrived at the academy, they noted the many cars and suited men by the school main entrances.

"As expected…" Taiki murmured as he pulled the handle, getting off the limousine first. Yuki was feeling the all so familiar tension. It was the unconscious fear of coming face to face with his parents. He was reluctant to leave his seat at first till he felt a light pat on his shoulder.

He turned and found Yaten smiling soothingly at him, "Everything is going to be alright…" His stepbrother words immediately lightened Yuki by a little as he exited the car with the rest of the Aces.

All head turned as the notorious group proceeded through the crowd. Once again, students were heard muttering and screaming at the Aces' arrival, but none of the Aces seems to be bothered by the outrageous attention. In the eyes of many, the current Aces formation was a configuration of handsome princes and beautiful princesses; an attractive group arrangement that was impossible to miss.

As expected, the troop of suited outsiders immediately approached them upon noticing Yuki. They uniformly stopped a few feet away from the Aces, breaking into two lines to make way for a tall middle-aged man and his wife. The moment Yuki saw his parents coming his way, he instantly froze. He wanted to turn and run, but stopped himself realizing he couldn't avoid them forever. The only way he could get the future he wanted is to start fighting now. Yuki took a deep breath walking down the remaining path together with his newly-found comrades.

"Yuki! Why are you with them?! And where were you yesterday?! A furious voice shouted. "Come here at once!"

Yuki felt himself shivering slightly at his father's command, the fear and hate of his own parents still lingered inside him, and he detested that feeling. Even so, he wasn't going to follow his father's unreasonable order like before. He wanted to publicly show them that he wasn't their string puppet anymore.

"How dare you ignore us?!" His stepmother yelled at the top of her voice as she proceeded over to Yuki. She raised her right hand, a clear action of intending to slap her stepson across his face publicly. But before Yuki could dodge, a hand swiftly grabbed his stepmother by her wrist, firmly stopping her from hurting anyone.

"No one touches my teammate…" All eyes flew to Seiya as he released his hold on Soushiko's wrist.

"Why you-!!" Soushiko glared furiously at Seiya and so did Yuki's father, Ohkawa. The two parents didn't like the Aces from the beginning, but they like them less now after Seiya's interference.

"It's not very nice to hit someone, Madam…" Usagi innocently spoke up with her usual smile.

"How we punish our son got nothing to do you!" Ohkawa snapped.

"Taiki, am I not wrong to say that we have the right to protect our teammate from any physical assault?" Yaten asked clearly, with intention. His question shocked everyone speechless. It was obviously his indirect way of declaring Yuki as part of the Aces.

"We do have the right…" Taiki replied with a nod. "Besides, do you know that physical assault is a crime against the law? I can easily sue you for attempting to inflict injury on our member without his consent."

The Aces' genius tortuous threat caught the adults wordless for a second and Yuki feeling extremely touched by his comrades' defensiveness towards him.

"Si-Since when did we approve Yuki to be part of the Aces?!" Ohkawa raged. "Yuki! You know very well what will happen to her if you defy us…"

"Your threat won't work, Ohkawa-san." Taiki asserted with a confident grin. "You should understand what I meant…"

"Im-impossible! You are lying!" Ohkawa yelled in disbelief. "No one can break those force fields without a group of professional alchemist…"

"We won't be called the Aces if we can't even undo a simple force field…" Seiya getting impatient urged. "Are all of you quite done yet? We can't afford to be late for class…"

"I'm tired of standing…" Usagi complained while stamping her feet acting like a spoilt little child.

"Me too." Both Yaten and Haruka agreed restlessly.

"Father, Mother… I am not going back with you." Yuki finally finding the courage declared aloud. "From today forth, I will be staying with the Aces. I want to be part of them!"

"Oh?" The rest of his team was startled by his remark.

"Nicely said, Yuki!!" Usagi cheeringly did a thumb up. The remaining five, including Minako applauded and nodded at his statement making Yuki feeling awfully awkward but at the same time pleased at their cheers.

"I am not allowing such defiance, Yuki!" Ohkawa broke the merriment. "Do you know how important you are to the Sohma family?! No matter what, you are to stay as a Sohma, whether you like it or not!"

"What silly persistence…" Taiki commented in a mumble.

"Father! You and mother can't be making decision for me all the time!" Yuki snapped at his parents' ridiculous demand. "This is MY life! And I should be given the freedom to do what I desire!"

"Enough said! Your life belongs to the Sohma family! And no one is allowed to interfere with this fact!" Ohkawa shouted and directed his focus on Seiya. "And that includes the Aces!"

"ACES?! WHAT ABOUT THE ACES?!" A very powerful voice suddenly roared from above and unexplainably the atmosphere began to increase its heaviness as a powerful being raises his presence.

No!

It's wasn't from any of the Aces or the Sohma's side. The strong emerging energy brought panics to everyone's souls and had Usagi gasping loudly upon feeling the all too familiar presence.

All was stunned as an 8-ft tall giant suddenly flew down from the blue-sky. He landed steadily on his two powerful feet, causing an enormous blast to the concrete ground. Almost everyone took several steps back from the gigantic elder.

"WHAT'S ALL THE COMMOTION ABOUT?!"

His thunderous voice sent shocking shivers down spines as his stern blue eyes scanned through his surrounding. No one dare to move or even breathe at the sight of the superior man standing before them.

"Oji-san…(grandfather)" Usagi muttered lowly.

She tried to conceal herself behind Seiya, who had intuitively gone stiff, because standing before him was the only man who could truly conquer him.

"Hayato-shifu…" Seiya muttered in disbelief.

Immediately, all heads were seen bowing before the gigantic elder. "Welcome back! Hayato-kouchou!"

"_Shifu means fatherly-master while Kouchou means Headmaster." – Japanese translation and naming custom. _

"Who is he?" Haruka hissed. He too felt an overbearing energy coming from the enormous elder and instinctively bowed together with the crowd. None had their head up yet since no one dared to.

"He's the invisible Hayato Furinji. The principal of this school! The National Psychical Academy's headmaster!!" Yaten replied back in a serious whisper.

"Wh-what?!" Haruka almost shouted out of absolute surprise.

"Akatsuki! Seiya!!" Hayato spotted the anxious couple. He took a fierce and loud step forward, cracking the earth with his feet as the couple took three steps back.

"It's Usagi… Oji-san..." Usagi hiding behind Seiya corrected her grandfather in a small voice.

"Hayato-shifu… Oh... Ohayo(good morning)…" Seiya cracked his head up at the elder while smiling nervously.

Because of his giant height, they couldn't see his eyes. His big orbs were cast behind a thick black shadow. Then, Hayato unexpectedly raised his two strong arms up making the couple shut their eyes tight as the big approaching palms fall towards them.

"Ohayo, Akatsuki, Seiya…"

The couple opened their eyes together upon feeling a gentle pat on their heads. They gazed up at once, and saw the elder smiling cheerfully down at them.

"Oji-san… It's Usagi neh… U-sa-gi…" Usagi corrected again, this time with a pout.

"Hohoho!! I forgot!! Yes, Yes… Usagi… Usagi…" He laughed.

He turned towards the crowd who still had their heads low before him, "Everyone, there's no need for such courtesy. Please rise…"

The crowd obediently returned back to their straight posture, but remained awkwardly quiet. Only Hayato's loud voice was heard as he openly chatted with the couple standing before him.

"It had been at least three years since I last saw the both of you… Look at how much you have grown!" The school principal started and began scanning through the area once more. "Oh... And… where is Taiki?"

"I'm here, Hayato-shifu." Taiki appearing from behind bowed politely.

"OH my! You have grown quite a lot too." Hayato laughed happily as he lightly patted Taiki on his head, treating him like a little boy.

Both Taiki and Seiya gazed up at the laughing elder and smile. Inside, they could feel the pleasing comfort of fatherly-warmth coming from Hayato upon remembering the many memories they shared together. Yes! They can't deny that they were afraid of him since he was the main cause for most of their frightening memories. But, they secretly saw and thought of him not only as their master but also as a father, respecting him wholeheartedly. He was the one who taught them about the many aspects of life, trained them physically and mentally even though his training method was a living hell. Like an ideal father, he helped them through their weakness, punished them for their naughtiness and saw them through their growth. Though most of the days with him were terrifying, they were greatly memorable and cherished.

"Are you still having problem controlling your telekinetic power?" Hayato gestured at Seiya with a grin. "Or do you need more training?"

"No… No! Thank you!" Seiya waved his hands in front of him frantically. "I can handle my PK power just fine now, Hayato-shinfu…"

"What about you, Taiki?" Hayato smiling at Taiki asked.

"Thank you for your concern." Taiki bowed lightly again. "I am doing very well, Hayato-shifu."

"Akatsuki…" The elder switching to his granddaughter started. "Have you been using your power lately?

Usagi sighed quietly, dropping the idea of correcting her grandfather. It was just an old habit of his to call her using her old name.

"Nope, not in years…" she answered with a smile and directed a question. "Oji-san, what brings you back to the State? Are you sick of traveling already?"

"No…" Hayato lips curved into a more subtle smile. "Akatsuki, there's something I would like to tell you personally. Will you please follow me to my office?"

Usagi was startled by her grandfather's request but nodded anyway. She waved cheerily over to her group before following the elder into the academy's domain.

Both Seiya and Taiki glanced uneasily at one another, each holding the same expression of worries. What was the matter regarding? But whatever it was, it must be terribly serious or important, judging from the headmaster making his sudden return.

The crowd was heard whispering among themselves. Everyone except Yaten was shocked to know about Usagi's relationship with the academy's principal and had Yuki's parents now thinking twice about wanting to make enemies with the Aces. Hayato was the most respected and feared man in the state, some even called him the dominator of all psychics since his capabilities are said to be unmatchable. During Usagi's attempt to save Seiya five years back, Hayato last appearance before the governmental officers was also the main reason why they placed a stop to the execution of the Nemesis. Hayato not only bear the status to save Seiya, but the capability to tame him and by far, he was the only one who could easily win against Seiya's deadly PK force physically. Now that the public knew about Usagi's connection with the state most honored man, the Aces fearsome reputation automatically raised another level.

--

* * *

--

The classroom was stiffly quiet, only the lecturer's teaching could be heard but few were paying attention. Seiya and Taiki had their books wide opened, but were unbothered to check whether they were on the correct pages as their minds were set somewhere else. Both were holding back their urges of wanting to intrude into the principal office. They certainly didn't like being left out and knew whatever the issue was about, it was definitely nothing light.

"Is our principal really such an amazing person?" Haruka asked softly, caring not to disturb the on-going lesson despite his curiosity.

"Amazing is not the appropriate word to describe him, Haruka-san." Yuki replied with his right hand supporting his chin. "He's beyond just amazing. Hayato-kouchou is classified under the paranormal among the paranormals. He's a unique-leveled with no specific classification term, one that was so out of the ordinary that the term 'psychic' or 'supernatural' was state unsuitable for him. Thus, the state titled him with the exceptional classification, 'Mutekichoujin'."

--

"_Mutekichojin means Invisible Super Man (lit. 'Man with no enemies)." – Japanese Translation._

_--_

"Man with no enemies huh?" Yaten added after a thought. "Until now, no one is capable enough to be titled his enemy. After all, he's undefeated…"

"Have you heard about it, Yaten?" Yuki glimpsed at his stepbrother. "Hayato-kouchou is said to have beaten 500 Shaolin masters to near death…"

--

"_Shaolin refers to a collection of Chinese martial arts that claim affiliation with the Shaolin Monastery. Of the ten of thousands of Kung Fu Wu Su(Chinese martial arts) styles, several hundred do, in fact, have some relationship to Shaolin. Some lineages of Karate have oral traditions that claim Shaolin origins. Martial arts traditions in Japan and Korea, and Southeast Asia cite Chinese influences as transmitted to Shaolin monks." – Facts._

_--_

"No way!" Haruka suppressed his exclamation. "He defeated all 500 Shaolin Masters?"

"No surprise…" Yaten explained. "There was once whereby he voluntarily allowed the National Psychical Research Department to study him and it was recorded that his kicks have speeds that are still a blur even when viewing a replay of it at 1/1000 times normal speed. No wonder they titled him invisible…"

"He's indeed invisible…" Yuki nodded. "But he called himself a martial artist instead of a supernatural. Obviously, he's no normal martial artist…" Yuki commented.

"I agree…" Yaten nodded. "You should have seen the way he dominated Seiya's overwhelming PK force." He lifted his index finger. "By using just one finger..."

"One finger?! No way!" Haruka exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes. Why do you think everyone, including Seiya and Taiki fear him so much if he wasn't that unbelievable?" Yaten reacted. "Besides, he was the one who trained Seiya to manage his uncontrollable telekinetic energy years back and even taught Taiki several martial arts tactics to improve his weak stamina." Yaten chuckled lightly upon recalling something hilarious. "The two of them never failed to suffer from constant nightmares after the trainings. They were so scared of Hayato-kouchou that at times they would run and hide from his harsh training… But, the funny thing was…" He giggled. "They always get caught in the end. And for their punishment, the training became a whole lot worse…"

"Ahem!" Both Taiki and Seiya coughed, blushing lightly together upon remembering their embarrassing moments. "Can you please stop publicizing our personal affairs?"

"Sorry, I can't help it…" Yaten was still giggling.

At first, Yaten actually was feeling envied over Seiya and Taiki for having the all-great Hayato as their training master, but after witnessing the elder's unspeakably terrifying training methods, he secretly thanked god for not being selected.

"Such incredible man is actually Usagi's grandfather?" Haruka thought deeply. "But they don't share the same last name, do they? That's odd."

There was a short moment of silence. Yaten glanced at the quiet Seiya and Taiki, expecting them to give a brief explanation behind Usagi's history or ability but none spoke, they had their vision away from them, showing no intention of speaking anytime soon.

Yaten sighed, "I have no idea…"

Then, the bell rang, signaling the end of the first period. Both Seiya and Taiki stood up together and proceeded for the exit.

"Where are the two of you going?" Haruka asked in surprise.

"To the principal office."

--

* * *

--

"Ehh…" Usagi smirked at what her grandfather had told her. "He sent Satan's spies into the academy? Otou-san(Father) seriously went this far for me?"

"HOHO!! Yes! Yes! He's still as persistence as ever." The elder looking down at his granddaughter asked. "You aren't planning to tell them, aren't you?"

"Satan main target is only me…" Usagi asserted while looking away with a light smile. "This got nothing to do with them. The more they knew, the more danger they might encounter. Isn't that the reason why the country changed my name and sent me away after mum's death? That no one is allowed to research into my background or power? All because to know anything more than my surface name is nothing but harm…"

Usagi then felt a light pat on her head. She instinctively gazed up, into her grandfather soothing eyes, "Akatsuki… You are no longer alone…"

But before Usagi could react to her grandfather words, they were interrupted by a loud bang and shouting from the outside.

"Wait! Wait! You are not allowed to enter the Principal office without previous notice…" They heard the secretary and securities yelled before the double-sided door was opened harshly.

"Minna(Everyone)…" Usagi stared surprisingly at her group of friends. The whole team was present as they apologetically bowed before the Principal.

"We are really sorry for our rude intrusion, Hayato-shinfu." Both Seiya and Taiki apologized together. "But we really wanted to know what the urgent matter was regarding…"

"Hayato-kouchou! We are so sorry…" the securities hurriedly rushed in, attempting to seize the intruders out of the headmaster's office. "We will take them all out at once!"

"No, it's alright." Hayato affirmed, ordering the securities to leave before gazing over to the group. "Hoho!! There's no need for any apologies." He patted Seiya on his shoulder and told everyone to raise their heads.

"Hayato-shinfu, it's regarding Satan, isn't it?" Taiki concluded quickly. The rest of his group enlarged their eyes in complete surprise at his assumption. However, none suspected his deduction, since no matters can be considered more serious than one that involved the world crime organization, Satan.

The elder grinned at Taiki's quick wits but did not answer his question.

"HOHO!! I've got an appointment with the President of the State. It's about time I get going. Take care, children!"

Within a blink of an eye, the headmaster was gone. No one saw how heleft, all they felt was a strong gush of wind rammed passed them and by the very next second, the principal was no where to be found.

"Hump! This Oji-san… He comes and goes as he pleases again…" Usagi pouted at her grandfather uncaring action.

"Usagi…" Seiya watched as Taiki persistently approached Usagi. "I don't need to know more. You just have to answer me this…" He locked his purplish-blue eyes into hers seriously. "Is it regarding Satan?"

The atmosphere turned quiet. All eyes and ears were perked up as they wait for a clear response but Usagi spoke nothing. Instead, she smiled brightly at Taiki seemingly to be telling him something through telepathy. After several seconds, the genius was seen smiling satisfyingly much to everyone's surprise, "Thank you. That's all I need to know…"

--

"_Telepathy describes the purported transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five classical senses." – Facts_

_--_

Their strange yet intimate communication method had caught the rest of the Aces in amazement and Seiya feeling the familiar spite of jealousy. Clenching both his fists, he wordlessly turned away from the warming sight before him and quietly exited the room.

--

* * *

--

"-ya! Seiya?"

"Huh?" Seiya asked, getting shoved off his train of thoughts. He turned instinctively towards the call, coming face to face with Usagi's worried expression.

"Are you alright? You kept staring off into space with no signs of life! Are you feeling ill?" She concernedly placed her hand over his forehead, checking his temperature. Like usual, the couple was seated on the roof garden's daybed as they awaited the rising sun.

"I'm sorry… It's nothing… I'm fine…" Seiya lied as he uneasily backed away from Usagi's touch.

"No! You are lying!" Usagi exclaimed determinedly. "You had been acting like this ever since yesterday. Tell me, what's wrong?" Usagi stared at him, wishing he'd talk to her about whatever was bothering him instead of apologizing and keeping to himself.

Seiya uncomfortably looked away from her concerned eyes and shook his head with a fake smile. Since yesterday, Seiya had been trying his best to hide his painful emotion to keep her from worrying, but Usagi was much more observant than he thought. She never failed to catch him spacing off during classes or on their way home and even noted that he was slightly quieter during mealtimes. So much for trying his all to hide the uneasiness and pretending to be contented, he was caught red-headed by Usagi who effortlessly noticed even the tiniest changes in him.

"Look at me!" Usagi demanded as she settled her both hands against his cheeks, turning him towards her till their eyes met. "Seiya, what's wrong?" she asked in a soft, worried tone.

He gazed silently at her, unable to give her an appropriate respond. Here she was, badly wanting to know about his problems, while she was hiding hers from him. How unfair. Maybe, to her, she felt like she was protecting him, but he felt she didn't trust him enough to confide in him. It hurt terribly, especially since she told Taiki and not him. Secretly, Seiya had always been bothered about the fact that Usagi tended to choose Taiki over him to discuss matters with. He doesn't even know her well enough as much as Taiki does. Who can blame him for his insecurity and uneasiness? He was barely told about her past or power abilities. All he knew was from experience, her irises would unexplainably turned black each time she activated her power and her enemies would mysteriously lose their conscious or scream insanity afterward.

In the past when his internal telekinetic energy became too overbearing for his body to handle, killing him internally, a mysterious brunette who looked exactly like Usagi would appeared before him and for an unknown reason, his uncontrollable flow of energy would inexplicably tame down, temporary soothing his pain. But his mysterious savior had stopped appearing before him ever since he learnt to take control of his power. Was the brunette Usagi? Or was it part of her power? There were so many questions about her that he wanted to know, like her background and origin. He wanted so badly for her to answer his uncertainties; why did she change her name from Akatsuki Furinji to Usagi Tsukino? Why did they call her a psychic weapon? And what's a psychic weapon? The academy definitely didn't teach them anything regarding it. Did Taiki know the answers to any of these questions? How much did the genius know that he doesn't? Why was he left out clueless? Was he not good enough for her to even trust talking to?

For a long moment, they just stayed like that, each gazing into one another's eyes of doubts, hopelessly lost in their own world. Usagi hated the silence hanging in the air. It only meant that he was too upset to even find words to express himself.

She instinctively free her hands from his cheeks, stood up and positioned herself till she was standing directly in front of the seated boy. To Seiya's surprise, she placed her hands over his shoulders and simply pulled him into her chest, making him blush crazily upon feeling her soft breasts against his burning cheeks. He froze there for several seconds, not knowing how to react as Usagi tenderly stroke his back. What was it that made her heart throb so much whenever he was feeling upset? Every time he felt down, she was brought down with him. Yet, when he grinned, she found herself smiling along as well. Why and since when had he become the center of her life?

"Seiya, I know something is bothering you. It's alright if you'd prefer not to tell me…" she told him in a small voice. "I'm contented, as long as you are fine with it…"

Her words brought a strange guilt into him. He breathed deeply, trying to sort out the complex emotions that were currently fighting in his within. "I just want you to talk to me…" he murmured softly.

"Eh?" Usagi stopped her stroking and pulled him slightly away from her so she was looking down into his dim-blue eyes. "I don't understand…" She shook her head innocently, not getting his request. Isn't she speaking to him right now?

"You always keep everything from me. You never tell me what's wrong or anything about your problems…" Seiya explained emotionally. "Am I not good enough to be trusted?"

His questions knocked Usag's speechless. She had never seen Seiya this emotional before, not even during his execution and could immediately tell that he was really disturbed about her keeping secrets from him. It's not like she wants to hide anything from him, but nothing good comes to those who know too much about her past or abilities. Wasn't that the reason why the country's high-authority forbids anyone from learning about her

For the first time, they weren't looking at the rising sun but at one another. Usagi shook her head lightly with a faint smile, "No… of course I trust you…"

"Then, why aren't you telling me anything?" Seiya insisted. "You talk to Taiki over every matters… Why, Odango? Why him…? Why isn't it me? Can't I be of any help to you?"

"No, it's not the way you think it is…" Usagi replied in a soft grin. "Sometimes, it wasn't me who told him…"

Seiya blinked gazing at her trying to figure out what she meant. She looked back at him not giving him any clues or hints that would help him to understand what she was referring to.

"Though I know he's protected, if given a choice, I would rather he knows nothing too…" She continued with a subtle smile.

"Can't I know? Odango, can't I know too?" Seiya questioned directly.

Usagi was caught off guard as Seiya gripped her on the wrist, pulling her towards him till she was settling on his lap and her face resting against his chest. She froze there for a second or two as he simply wrapped his arms around her thin shoulders.

"I'm sorry if I sounded selfish…" he whispered. "At times, I felt useless. Ever since young, you were there for me… unconditionally protecting and standing up for me… I will never be who I am now if it wasn't for you and I never know how to thank you enough." He pressed his cheeks against hers in a loving gesture. "So… please… please… I want to protect you too. I very much want to be there for you at all time… Am I not allowed to? Am I not allowed to get close to you?"

Get close to her? Excluding Taiki, Usagi can't remember the last few who got close to her enough, because all of them died in the end; which includes her foster parents who died hating her. Feelings became a cast away ever since and because of this, she was seen smiling in whatever and whenever not till she met Seiya was she finally able to feel emotions all over again. She had an odd feeling ever since the first moment she locked her eyes at him. What was that strange feeling? She doesn't know. But it was strong, whatever that made her drawn to him.

For a minute, Usagi was silent. They just sat there, bodies pressed together in an embrace.

"Gomen neh, Seiya…" Her small voice finally broke the silent. "I didn't mean to hide anything from you… Gomen neh…"

Usagi's sincere apology had Seiya pulling away from her slightly. He gazed wordlessly at the blonde, who as usual held a light smile across her lovely face.

"Because I've no intention of lying to you… That's why I kept quiet." She told him as she lifts herself up, gently pressing her lips against his forehead. "And it doesn't mean that I don't trust you. I do, really, with all my heart… I do…" She ran her fingers down his face, stopping at his cheeks as she peered into his dark-blue eyes. "Seiya, please understand, that I have my reasons for keeping quiet…"

"Is it all because they see you as a psychic weapon?" Seiya holding onto her wrists asked knowingly. For a second there, Usagi was stunned by his question, but she managed to hold onto her smile like always.

"Partially…" she replied while looking away.

"You are not a weapon!" Seiya exploded in rage, catching Usagi by surprise. He clutched his fists hard, wanting to hurt whoever that declared her as a killing tool. How dare they? How dare they see his pure white angel as a murderer weapon? An innocent girl like her who is beautiful both in the inside and out shouldn't be treated as a tool at all, not to mention one for killing purposes. "How-how unforgivable…! I will never forgive anyone who called you that!"

Usagi smiled, thinking how adorable he was for getting angry at something that had been identified as a fact ever since her birth. It had her wondering what his reaction will be if he were to understand how easily she can kill without even dirtying her own hands, which is why she always gets away with murder. Which is also why she's on Satan's top most wanted list, and that's the reason why they declared her as a murderer weapon. It was all because she was anything but innocent.

He was the innocent one, Seiya. And that's the main reason why she didn't wish to tell him anything, not wanting to crush his belief or bring any unnecessary harm to him. There's no benefit gained from knowing too much about her or Satan's next re-installment. Right now, all she wants to think about is the present, on the things that pleased everybody, her dearest friends and him, because she wasn't sure if she'd be able to anymore in the future…

Acting on her impulse, Usagi leaned forward to Seiya who was totally caught off guard as she warmly planted a soft kiss on his lips. His eyes shot wide opened in absolute surprise as they stayed at that loving posture for a few more second. Finally, Usagi withdrew herself and beamed at him, whispering…

"Thank you."

--

--

_Credit: Character Hayato Furinji is from the Anime, History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi._


	12. When Her Smile Vanishes

**--**

**When Her Smile Vanishes**

--

"Usagi Tsukino will be your new name." A woman dressed in black told the little blonde. "And you will stay with this family till we are able to locate Hayato-kouchou alright?"

The eight years old nodded. Switching her view to the two indistinctive adults standing by the doorway, she could immediately tell that her new parents were feeling rather discontented with her even though they tried hiding it with a fake smile. Not wanting to cause anymore unpleasantness, she flashed a bright grin at them and directed her focus back to the executive lady. "Renka-san, what about Yuumei?"

Even though Renka had her eyes hidden behind a black sunglass, the little blonde could still distinguish her anxiety. "I-I told you before didn't I? Leave everything to us, we will find her. So, don't worry. Be a good girl and stay here till we get back to you alright? You will be safe here…"

"Is there a problem?" Her new father, Mr. Tsukino asked.

Usagi glimpsed at the two adults once more, knowing that they knew nothing about her. They were innocent humans who had no connection with the psychical state and knew nothing about supernatural. Of course, she would be safe here. Who could have thought that her state government and protection force would send her out of the psychical country as safeguarding? Surely, no one would find her in this normal neighborhood. But adults were sure bad liars, weren't they? Yes, behind those masks, she saw their flaws, every single one of them…

"No. There's no problem." Renka grinned, hiding her lies as she presented several legal papers to Mr and Mrs Tsukino. "We need you to sign this to finalize the entire adoption procedure…"

After all that was finished, Renka whispered something to Usagi, "Please do not exercise your power here. There's no need to worry. Our protection force has this neighborhood secured. There will be officers on the lookout for your safety."

Usagi nodded and followed her foster parents to her room.

Besides lecturing her with rules and her daily responsibilities in the house, they spoke nothing good to her.

"Didn't I say I wanted a boy?" Usagi heard Mr. Tsukino stressing to his wife as he closed the door, leaving the little blonde alone in her new room.

"The agency messed it up alright? It's not my fault that it turned out this way!" Mrs Tsukino shouted back.

"Ya, right! You always push the blame around." Mr Tsukino was heard asserting aloud. "Forget it… Daughters are really useless… You take care of her."

"What? Me?! You are the one who wanted to adopt a child in the first place!" Mrs Tsukino screamed back.

Usagi didn't give a thought or care at her new parents' argument over her. She didn't see the need to cry over such trivial matters. Adults could be so predictable and boring. Why did she even agree to let herself get adopted in the first place? But still, she needed to be here so she could attend the National Psychical Academy in the near future.

"_Akatsuki…"_

Usagi's jerked a little at the soft familiar voice calling her. She spun around, coming face to face with a full-length mirror and smiled brightly at what she saw. Inside the mirror was her twin sister who held was happily smiling back at her.

"Yuumei!" Usagi rushed towards her dark reflection, placing her hands on the reflecting surface. "You managed to find me!".

"_Of course!"_ Her dark twin jumped out of the mirror and embraced Usagi. _"I am a smart and strong girl neh! I would never leave you alone!." _

"Wait!" Usagi pushed her sister away and frowned lightly. "Daifu did it again, didn't he? He's putting your body under custody, isn't he?"

"_But,_ _my body is so unhelpful!"_ Yuumei explained with a nod, agreeing with herself. _"I've thought about it already, and I am so sure that it will just hinder my ability, that's why I've decided to let daddy have it."_

"That's unfair! Your power seemed more awesome this way! Mine is useless. I rather have yours." Usagi pouted with jealousy.

"_HEHE!! Too bad!!" _Yuumei stuck out her tongue at Usagi's once more._ "I am never giving it to you!"_

"Meanie!" Usagi threw a pillow at her giggling twin but it just penetrated passed her body. "Hey! That's unfair!"

"_Heeee… you should know that I am invisible in this form…"_ Yuumei mischievously picked up the cushion and threw it back to the pouting Usagi. _"I can feel the things I want, and yet not touch the things I don't want. Heee… Pretty cool huh?"_

"Hump!" Usagi turned away, deliberately ignoring her playful twin. "I am not talking to you! I am taking a nap!"

"_No! You are not!"_ Yuumei pounded on the little blonde who had hid herself under a blanket.

Usagi was giggling happily in her head as Yuumei tried pulling her out of the cover.

Yes, she wasn't alone.

Yuumei will always be there and she secretly thanked god for giving her twin an astral body; allowing her to exit and return to her actual, physical body whenever she pleases. But most importantly, her extraordinary ability allowed them to be together no matters the circumstances.

Though the twin both possessed unique powers, Usagi didn't favor her power very much. She found it pointless and would rather be named as the Ether than a Psychic Weapon.

"_Psychic weapon, what an ugly name_" Usagi sighed in her thoughts, "_Ether sounds a hundred times cuter! Hump! No fair! Yuumei always gets the good stuffs…" _

--

"_Ether denotes one who has the capability to control one's astral body. An astral body refers to the concept of a subtle body which exists alongside the physical body, as a vehicle of the soul or higher consciousness. It also can be understood as desire body. It allowed one to travel from a person conscious to another, partially taking over his/her body, inflicting or eliminating what lies in his/her mind. By far, Yuumei is the only one who holds such an extraordinary ability." – Story fact._

--

The following few months passed by rather normally for Usagi. She attended a regular school and managed to make some friends due to her bright nature. As usual, Yuumei was always somewhere near Usagi, either inside her conscious or walking invisibly along with her. Though Yuumei can appear visible or invisible as she pleased, she preferred to remain hidden as she did not wish to draw any unnecessary attention. But, this only led Usagi's foster parents disliking her even more after they caught her talking to the thin air several times.

However, Usagi wasn't bothered by her foster parents' detest even though they were harsh and sometime unreasonable to her, she would always put on a smile around them.

Bur, it all ended at that fateful night,

When her smile was shadowed...

And her irises darkened into complete emptiness.

"MONSTER!! MONSTER!! YAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

It ended with dead silence…

--

* * *

--

A twelve years old blonde was seen peeping through a slight gap opening of a classroom door. She spotted Seiya, all alone in the big cold classroom. He had his back against her and head down, apparently to be doing his school works. She frowned, disliking the fact that the academy still isolated him with everyone. In Usagi's opinion, classes are boring enough let alone to attend them everyday unaccompanied; just him and the lecturer, how interesting can that be?

The little Usagi grinned happily as an idea came to her. She quietly snuck behind him, covering his eyes with her hands. Seiya jerked a little, falling backwards slightly hitting her chest with his shoulders.

"Guess who?" She whispered into his ear.

"Odango?!" Seiya guessed, recognizing her voice. He grasped her wrists with his hands trying to pry them from his eyes. It sounded like her, and who else would even dare approach him this way besides Usagi?

She slid her hands from his eyes smiling as she said, "Boo!"

Seiya beamed warmly, clearly feeling glad to see Usagi as she settled her bag down and comfortably takes a seat beside him.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Seiya cocked his head to the side staring at her.

"It's free period now." Usagi's smile turned into a faint frown. "Am I not welcome here? Don't you want me here?"

"No! No!" Seiya waved his hands in front of himself showing his objection. "I was just surprise…" He blushed a little pink not expecting her to personally come over to check on him during her available time when she can be doing something more fun or meaningful.

Usagi smiled brightly at him before turning her attention onto his course book. "What's your next lesson?"

"Numerology" Seiya replied with a light grin.

--

"_Numerology is any of many systems, traditions or beliefs in a mystical or esoteric relationship between numbers and physical objects or living things. Numerology and numerological divination was popular among early mathematicians, such as Pythagoras, but are no longer considered part of mathematics and are regarded as pseudomathematics by most modern scientists. This is similar to historical development of astronomy out of astrology, and chemistry from alchemy."_

_Pseudomathematics is a form of mathematics-like activity that does not work within the framework, definitions, rules, or rigor or formal mathematical method. While any given pseudomathematical approach may work within some of these boundaries, it inevitably disregards a well-established or proven mechanism, falling back upon any number of demonstrably non-mathematics principles." – Facts_

--

Usagi scowled, "That's my worse subject. I hate Numerology."

"Every subject seems to be your worse…" Seiya teased in a chuckle.

"Hey! That's not true!" Usagi exclaimed while trying her hardest to think of a module in which she was good at, but failed miserably. She sighed in defeat. That was why she hated school and couldn't understand why some would consider schooling fun as even the few seconds of short thinking could give her headache. Maybe this was her price to pay for holding such extraordinary psychic power…

Seiya smiled at Usagi for a second longer before shifting his focus back to his work, "I need to finish these few more questions before Reo Sensei gets here."

Usagi nodded and watched quietly as Seiya began solving the remaining problems he was given in the question sheets at an incredibly fast pace. He hardly looked up as his hands flew across the pages and never stopped to think or even erase a mistake which shocked Usagi completely.

"Wow! You are a genius!" She praised while clapping her hands after Seiya had turned the last page and set down the papers.

"Genius?" Seiya raised his brows, not getting what she was trying to imply.

Usagi nodded keenly, her face still holding an amazed expression. "You looked just like Taiki when you were doing those equations! Only that you did it with your eyes opened!"

Usagi recalled the times she watched Taiki worked out his numerology papers, with his eyes closed seemingly to be resting his vision. She had always known that Taiki had a brain out of this world, but to be able to solve all the tough equations in such a fast pace while keeping his eyes closed made the calculator seems like a stupid invention.

Seiya, on the other hand, wasn't sure whether to take her words as a form of praise or not. Firstly, he had always been doing his work in such basis and couldn't find anything amazing about it. Secondly, he didn't like to be seen holding any similarity with Taiki. Lastly, he disliked the fact that she thought of or compared him with that genius.

"You are really smart, Seiya!" Usagi exclaimed again. "I can't solve a single problem here even with the help of a calculator! Yet you finished all without one?! You are a genius!" She continued her stare of admiration at his answer sheets and praised wholeheartedly.

Though Seiya didn't know what to make of the situation, he giggled lightly at Usagi's big eyes of amazement. He noted that she looked really cute when she was like that.

Then, the door slid open loudly interrupting the little couple at the front desks. They looked up, staring into Reo Sensei eyes of displease.

"Who are you?" He glared at the little blonde next to Seiya. "Do you know that you aren't supposed to be here?"

Seiya frowned at Reo Sensei unwelcoming words but said nothing, clearly understanding that he was only indicating the truth. He wasn't supposed to be near anyone at school, not even Usagi but Seiya secretly wished that she could stay through the remaining classes with him, at least for today.

And as if his desire was heard, Usagi shot up and requested, "Hai! I am Usagi Tsukino! Yoroshiku(Nice to meet you), Sensei! I am here to join Seiya for his classes!"

"Ah?!" Both Seiya and Reo threw her a shock look. Seiya couldn't close his jaw, very surprised by her intention but at the same time feeling really happy and glad.

"No! No!" Reo shaking his head rejected. "That's against the school regulation."

"Then change the school rules." Usagi argued back easily.

Reo stared back at the little blonde in disbelief. Who was she kidding? As if changing the school regulation was that easy. He coughed lightly, keeping his cool as a teacher. "No, I won't allow you in this class. This is a designed program for the Nem-… I mean, Seiya Kou only… You are not allowed to be part of it…"

"Eh?!" Usagi frowned and folded her arms, showing her annoyance and stubbornness. "Hump! I don't care! I am not leaving this classroom! I am not leaving Seiya here alone!"

A blush edged across Seiya's cheeks as she declared those words and he didn't know whether to urge her to go or stay. Part of him wanted her to be with him but the other didn't wish to see her getting into trouble for going against the school regulation.

In the meanwhile, Reo was getting impatient at her defiance, "NO! You have to go! What's your name again? I will have someone to take you back to your class."

"I told you, I am not going! I am staying here with Seiya!" Usagi unthinkingly yelled and glared angrily at Reo.

Seiya glanced up at the Usagi, noticing from where he was seated that her iris had darkened by a little. He blinked, thinking that it was his eyes faultiness but before he could take a closer look, he heard Reo aching cries.

"Arggg! My head…" Reo moaned in pain as he settled one hand on the teacher's desk for support while the other on his head, trying his best to shake off his sudden headache.

Seiya stared confusingly at the lecturer and back at Usagi who still wasn't smiling. He frowned, detesting her serious expression. She wasn't her usual self and he didn't like it.

"Odango…" Seiya gently pulled her by her hand, hoping to draw her attention back to him. He felt her light jerk and saw her blinked several times upon feeling his touch.

Usagi instinctively glanced down and stared emptily at Seiya for a few second, as if she was looking at a complete stranger.

"Odango…" Seiya blurred out, a slight chill of fright lingered into him as he stared into her cold blue. What had gotten into her? Can't she recognize him?

"Odango… It's me, Seiya…" he desperately slipped his hand into hers and squeezed it. "Don't scare me. Are you alright?"

"Seiya… ?" Usagi repeated his name in a murmur and stared blankly at him for a second more. To Seiya's relief, her lips were seen curving into her usual grin as she smiled warmly down at him.

"What's wrong?" She asked while beaming innocently back at him. Her smile immediately turned into a frown after noticing his worried expression. "Seiya? Why do you look so worried?" The little blonde sat back down. "Are you sick?" She touched his forehead concernedly, checking his temperature.

Seiya could only stare back in daze, not understanding the situation. A second ago, she was looking at him as if she didn't recognized him and it was indeed frightening for he would rather die than to have her forgetting about him.

"Are you alright, Seiya?! Answer me!" Usagi was now shaking him frantically, upon seeing his unresponsiveness. "Please don't scare me! Your head hurts or something?! Is your telekinetic energy attacking you again?!"

But, instead of a direct reply, Seiya simply pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. Usagi's eyes shot up in absolute surprise at his sudden action.

"Don't forget me… Please don't forget me…" She heard him muttered in a light shiver.

"Eh?" Usagi did not get his words but somehow felt his fear. "Baka, what are you talking about?" She caringly strokes his back, soothing his fear. "There's no way I will forget you…"

"Re-really?" Seiya wanting a reassurance asked. His heart eased as she seemed to be back to her normal self now.

"Hai!" Usagi nodded, while still stroking his back.

"Ahem!" They heard a loud cough. "Just because I got a headache, that doesn't mean I've left."

The little couple slowly broke apart and stared at Reo Sensei who was now frowning at them, in both displease and disbelief. _"Who would have thought that the state most dangerous child actually had a girlfriend? Furthermore at such a young age… How unforgivable!"_ Reo thinking they were in a relationship grumbled in his thoughts.

"Sensei!" Usagi raised her hand and stood up. "Before I ask the principal to change the school rules, can I attend the remaining classes with Seiya for today?"

"_What? Principal?"_ She must be joking right? Even if she can find or approach the all-great Hayato-kouchou, it was still impossible that the headmaster will listen to her request and change the school program system. Reo Sensei stared unbelievably at Usagi for a second longer before sighing in defeat. "No matter what I say, you will still insist on staying right? Okok! I don't want to waste anymore time. You can stay for his remaining classes, but just for today."

"Yeah! Thank you, Sensei! You are the world best teacher to have ever existed in the human race!" Usagi cheered and beamed at Seiya happily. He too smiled sweetly back, obviously glad that she was allowed to stay and attend classes together.

"Ya…Ya!" Reo taking out the class record book followed. "Little girl, what's your name again? I need to record it down for verification."

"Hai! Usagi Tsukino!" She responded loudly and keenly.

"Us…agi… Tsu…" Reo murmured while jotting down her name. _"Sounds familiar? Wonder where I heard it from."_ Then, his eyes enlarged with shock as he recalled something. _"Usagi Tsukino? Isn't she the suspect for causing the death of her parents and some psychic criminals four years back? But they released her because of insufficient evidence?"_ He stared frighteningly at his two students who were seen smiling innocently at one another. Reo swallowed hard. If the rumor was true, shouldn't he be running out of here at this very instant? Because seated before him right now were two very dangerous kids…

"Is there something wrong, Sensei?" Usagi cocked her head asked. "Why are you sweating so much?"

"If you are feeling unwell, we can always postpone the lesson…" Seiya added uncaringly.

"Yeah! No Numerology, Seiya!" Usagi clapped happily. "Hehe! Another free period!" The little blond grasping onto Seiya's hands smiled merrily.

"Lucky you." Seiya smiled favorably back, not letting go of her hands.

"_This two…"_ Reo Sensei stared doubtfully at the warming scene before him. _"Are they seriously dangerous or not?"_

In the teacher's perceptive, he saw a large pink heart-shaped background set against the little innocent couple who was still facing each other, hands in hands, both exchanging devoting smiles. Reo sighed, finally calming down, "Hey, hey, hey…" He knocked at Seiya's desk demandingly, "Quit it, you two… I am still here!"

They glimpsed back at him looking a little disappointed, releasing each others' hands with a quiet sigh.

"I should be the one sighing here!" Reo Sensei shrieked at their disappointment. "Okok! We have wasted too much time already! Quick! Quick! Let's start our lesson!" He demanded impatiently.

"Hai… Hai…" The little couple responded reluctantly.

But before Reo Sensei could even begin his first sentence, the classroom door unexpectedly slid open.

"May I join the class, Reo Sensei?"

"Taiki!!" Usagi shot up and cheered excitedly as he waved smilingly back at her.

"Why are you here?" Both Seiya and Reo asked together but in different tone; one in irritation while the other in surprise.

"For Usagi, of course…" Taiki looking at Seiya replied with a smirk. Their eyes were now seen sending spiteful electrocuting waves at one another till Usagi interrupted Taiki's glare by pulling him over to the seat next to hers.

"Sensei! One more!" She lifted her index finger at Reo, telling him to put Taiki into the class list.

"What do you mean by one more?!" Reo Sensei yelled at her agitatedly. "What do you see this place as? A restaurant?!"

"One more! One more!" Usagi stamping her feet demandingly insisted. On the other hand, Seiya and Taiki were too busy glaring at each other to notice their lecturer's irritation.

"Whatever… Whatever… I don't have much time left…" Reo Sensei gave in to her irrelevant request. "Hey, hey…" He once again knocked at Seiya's desk, trying to get the boys attention back to him. "Stop staring at each other and listen to my lesson."

Reo Sensei shook his head and glimpsed at Taiki who was taking out his numerology course book from his bag. The lecturer definitely didn't understand why a renowned genius like him needed to attend his classes, but he didn't bother asking as he quickly began his first lecture for the day.

Throughout Reo's lecture and the following few, Usagi found herself trapped in between two really intelligent boys who practically understood everything the lecturers taught and faced no problem when it came to written exercises, completing all given questions when she was still stuck in the first one. How unfair. How did they ever manage to finish everything so effortlessly, while she can't even understand one single bit to any of the lectures? To make matter worse, they were now attending a lecture on Omi-language. Usagi was starting to feel exhausted from trying to understand the lecturer who was practically muttering some alien languages in her reception.

--

"_Omi-language teaches one to obtain the ability to understand any form of languages." – Story fact._

--

"Tsukino!" Usagi's eyelids opened in half at the lecturer's loud call.

"Eh… Sensei…" The little blonde rubbed her eyes, with effort to open them but found herself dozing off again.

"Stop sleeping! Wake up!" The lady lecturer shrieked. Seiya and Taiki chuckled at Usagi adoring action as she tried lifting her lids again.

"Jesus! Don't you understand anything I've taught so far?" The lecturer asked while shaking her head.

"Eh… Hmm…" Usagi nodded inattentively, feeling the sleepiness taking over. "Not a single word…"

Both Seiya and Taiki burst out laughing while the lecturer sighed in defeat, realizing that she wouldn't be able to find another student worse than Usagi.

Lucky for Usagi, the bell rang signifying the end of the class. "That's it for today." The lecturer closing her book announced. "I'll see you again on Monday." She glimpsed at her watch as she hurriedly exited the classroom.

"Odango… Odango…" Seiya gently shook the little blonde who was now resting her head on the table. "I have no more classes. We can go home now."

"Eh…Hmm..." She sat back up sleepily and faced Seiya with a half-smile. Normally, in her usual classes, it was easy for Usagi to find time to slack or rest her thoughts but she couldn't here as she was seated directly in front of the lecturer. Therefore, she had practically used up too much of her focus in the effort to follow up with the lessons and would definitely appreciate a good nap now.

"Thank you for accompanying me through today." Seiya smiled at the half-awake Usagi.

"No problem neh…" Usagi grinned in response and tiredly stood up. Partially sleepwalking, she lost her step and fell front into Taiki's arms.

"Usagi? Are you alright?" Taiki asked concernedly, aiding her to her feet.

"I am good…" Usagi smiled faintly. She tried steadying herself after Taiki released his hold but fell backwards instead, and was immediately caught by Seiya.

"Odango, you can't even stand properly..." Seiya added in concern. "Do you need me to carry you home?"

"There's no need to trouble you, Seiya." Taiki reached forth for Usagi.. "I can do the carrying."

"How kind of you…" Seiya smiled forcefully. "But, I don't think it's necessary."

The half-conscious Usagi was practically sandwiched in between the two boys who were seen glaring competitively at one another as if they were fighting over a toy of some sort.

They were interrupted when Usagi reactively covered her mouth as a yawn broke loose. She glimpsed up at them, "Seiya, Taiki, please leave without me… I need to find Oji-san…"

"Oji-san?"

Usagi nodded with a smile, feeling some of her energy returning to her. "I heard he's back. I can go alone. You don't have to follow me."

She lightly pushed them aside as she stumbled over to the exit, almost slamming into the door, missing the edge by an inch.

"Ca-Careful…" The two boys stressed as they reached over to her. "Are you sure? I think we better follow you along…"

"No… It's alright. My drowsiness will soon pass…" Usagi confirmed with a smile.

They watched worriedly as she continued her unsteady walk towards the end of the hallway. They badly wanted to follow, but respected Usagi's words thinking that she didn't want them to meet her grandfather, whoever he was.

"I'll see you back at home!" She spun around and waved at them before disappearing into the corner.

--

* * *

--

Students were heard whispering and muttering among themselves as they passed through the school gate.

"Hey, hey… Isn't that the Nemesis…?"

"Really? Ahhh!! He's actually very good looking…"

"Are you crazy? Stay away from him… I heard…"

Seiya seemed to be ignoring all the comments as he leaned with his back against the brick wall and his vision at the school interior entrance, seemingly to be waiting for someone. He glimpsed at his watch for the tenth time, realizing that an hour had passed but there was still no sight of Usagi. He folded his arm and glanced up, coming into direct contact with a pair of violet eyes.

"You can always go back first…" Taiki assured with a grin. "I can wait for Usagi alone."

"Not a problem." Seiya replied with a fake smile. "I don't mind waiting a whole day for Odango…"

Then, the two boys were seen smiling forcefully across to each other.

"Seiya!! Taiki!!"

Both of them turned at once, smiling when they saw a little blonde running towards them. "Eh?! Why are the two of you still here??"

"We were worried." Taiki answered with a smile. "But I am glad to see you looking better than an hour ago."

Usagi nodded wholeheartedly, "Hehe!! As long as I am away from those boring lectures, I can get my energy back pretty quickly."

The boys chuckled at her response, glad to know that she was feeling well again.

"Did you manage to find your grandfather?" Seiya asked as they walked out of the school gate and proceeded into the school car park.

"Iiyeee…" Usagi shook her head and pouted, "Hump! That Oji-san… He always come and go as he pleases… It's never easy finding him… "

Seiya smiled at Usagi for a second longer before glimpsing back up, only to froze abruptly at what he saw.

"Seiya? What's wrong?" Usagi and Taiki stopped their steps upon noticing Seiya almost frightened expression and immediately glanced over to the direction his eyes were fixed on. Then, Taiki was seen frowning at the sight of his three despiteful uncles exiting their cars, one of them being Seiya's father, Tanaka Kou.

"Who are they?" Usagi asked, but got no reply from either of Taiki or Seiya. She noticed her two friends' tense expression as the three strangers slowly approached them.

"What bad luck…" She heard one of them commented unkindly. "We shouldn't have picked today to come."

"Precisely." The left answered as they stopped before the three children and looked at Taiki with a cruel glint in his eyes. "What disrespect. Didn't your parents ever teach you to greet your uncles properly?"

Taiki kept his fists clenched at his sides to keep himself from hitting the three adults, "Good afternoon, Uncle Jun, Uncle Tanaka, Uncle Kondo…" He greeted with a force grin.

Apparently his uncles were very jealous over Taiki's well earned reputation at such a young age, throwing any hurtful remarks at him whenever they see the chance to.

"That's better. Remember to keep your manners up at all time. We don't want you to disgrace the Kou family with your ill-mannered behavior just because you are so famous." Kondo arrogantly said.

"Thank you for your kind reminder, Uncle Kondo." Taiki smiled forcefully. Feeling his flare igniting, the little genius thoughtfully hid his tight knuckles behind him, swearing that he will get back at them when he grows older. Taiki may have the reputation, but without any authority status, he could do nothing about their arrogance except to swallow his pride. Besides, he didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble by being defiance with Usagi around him.

Usagi, however, couldn't quite understand the situation but judging from their unkindly tone towards Taiki, she definitely didn't like the three adults now that they had start insulting her friend, but before she could do anything about it, she heard another man spoke…

"Why aren't you dead yet?" Tanaka muttered spiteful.

Usagi frowned a little. Who was he talking to? She noticed that the man was glaring at Seiya who was seen looking away from his hateful stare. Was he referring to Seiya? The little blonde however did not bother verifying. Whether he was or not, she wasn't going to allow him to insult any further, as her hands protectively flew around Seiya, grasping him in her arms, shocking everyone.

"Odango…" Seiya startlingly glimpsed down at the blonde embracing him. Usagi now had her focus set straight at Tanaka and could feel a concealed force uncontrollably making its rebirth from within as her smile slowly diminished.

Tanaka scowled at Usagi for a second longer before glaring back at his son. His frown and knuckles instantly tightened when he saw Seiya smiling straight at the blonde who was still hugging him. The big man was shivering in irritation, _"Why? Why is he smiling? He isn't supposed to smile! A murderer like him shouldn't be given any happiness at all! He shouldn't even be alive! Yes! A child like him should just disappear!"_

"Hey, Tanaka, we should get going…" Jun urged, not wanting to stay a second longer with the Nemesis around, considering that he was a time-bomb that might explode anytime and killing them without a warning.

"Yes, let's not waste anymore time here." Kondo pushed the angry Tanaka, urging him to move forth.

Yes. It was said, none can be more dangerous than something that held the combination of both _invisibility_ and _unpredictability. _At the very least the destructive time-bomb was made visible to the naked eyes. Definitely, nothing is deadlier than a weapon that cannot be seen, predicted or explain; a perfection to cause one's death a mystery forever left unsolved. But what does it takes to activate such deadliness?

One word...

"Monster…" Tanaka walking passed Seiya triggered the button of fatality.

Yes, it had begun.

Her smile vanished, her eyes widened into complete darkness, her hand reached forth and seized onto the man wrist firmly.

"Apologize. Apologize to Seiya." She demanded deeply.

"What?!" Tanaka tried flinging away her hold glared disbelievingly at the little blonde who had her head faced down. "Let go! You stupid girl! Let go!"

Seiya retrieving his conscious from his father's hurtful remark was shocked to find Usagi half-embracing him while holding onto Tanaka's sleeve. "Odango…"

Everyone was equally startled by Usagi's sudden act.

"Apologize now. Apologize to Seiya now!" She demanded loudly, her vision still on the ground.

"What? You want me to apologize to a MURDERER?! You crazy girl!" Tanaka yelled back furiously. "I would rather die than to apologize to a MONSTER like HIM!"

He said it…

His last sentence brought Usagi finally glaring up as her black-tinted eyes locked coldly into Tanaka's. And as soon as Tanaka free himself from Usagi's grab, a razor sharp pain hit his head hard, causing him to fall onto his knees while clinching tightly onto his hair.

"ARGGGG… ARGGGGG!! AHHHHH!! My head!!" He yelled in agony as his clinch tightened, attempting to pull out his hairs and dig away what that was inside his head that caused the extreme pain.

"Tanaka! Tanaka!" His two brothers rushed over to the screaming man who was now banging his head onto the concrete floor. The pain got more and more unbearable as the second ticked by. It felt as if someone was slicing his brain slowly yet recklessly with a surgeon knife. It was indeed a tormenting pain out of this world as Tanaka continuously hit his head against the hard ground, tainting his forehead with dark blood.

Seiya and Taiki were completely traumatized as they watched startlingly how the insane man tried crushing his skull against the rough earth. None of them understood what was going on. Taiki brushed a glimpse at Usagi who had her back against him but he could tell she was staring quietly down at Tanaka as well. A few passer-bys stood a far, watching horrifyingly at the shocking scene. Kondo, on the other hand, was seen shakily dialing the number of the emergency room.

"What happened to you?! Stop it! Get hold of yourself!" Jun forcefully tried pulling his brother away from the ground, in an attempt to stop him from hurting himself.

But, Tanaka rashly pushed him away, "NO!! LET ME DIE!! LET ME DIE!! LET ME DIE!!" He screamed insanely as he continued dealing damages on himself.

"_Die?"_ Taiki remembering Tanaka's last sentence before he started going insane began linking all the missing pieces together intelligently. His eyes shot up in absolute disbelief after his analysis as he gazed back down at the blonde who was still embracing Seiya while staring down at the screaming Tanaka.

"Usagi… You…" Taiki placed his hand gently on Usagi's shoulder. He watched as she slowly turned towards his touch. His eyes instantly widened in disbelief upon coming face to face with her emotionless black orbs. He froze at her empty stare; eyes of clear dark nothingness.

Who was she?

No, this wasn't the Usagi he knew. Where was the cheery blonde who always smiles whenever he was around her? For the first time, the genius felt fear. No, he didn't want her to look at him this way, as if he was a complete stranger. Taiki shook his head frantically. No! Stop! Stop staring! Stop staring like she didn't know him!

"Stop…" Even the calm and intelligent genius was experiencing a mess now as his brain began to malfunction

Seiya turned his attention to Taiki who for some reasons was shaking his head ceaselessly.

"Odango…" He glanced down at the silent blonde whom Taiki had his enlarged eyes fixed on and immediately caught a glimpse of her black and soulless orbs. Those were the lifeless eyes he saw previously; a stare that brought soreness into him.

"Odango… What's wrong?" Seiya called out while shaking the unresponsive Usagi.

But, she just turned away from him, breaking his hold and taking a few steps forward to the bloody man in tears. Tanaka was still knocking his head rapidly against the floor, smudging the spot with his blood. From the looks of it, the badly injured man should be out conscious by now due to the lack of blood, but the overwhelming pain didn't allow him to escape through collapsing. It was indeed a torment worse than death.

"Apologize to Seiya." Usagi muttered in an undertone. Whether it was due to the pain or because Usagi spoke too softly, Tanaka didn't catch her demand as he continued ramming himself to the floor.

"Stop it! Stop it! Tanaka! You are killing yourself!!" Jun cried out.

On the opposite side, an invisible brunette with her long hair tied up into two small buns was observing the entire commotion quietly. Initially, she had no intention to interfere, knowing it was pointless to try stopping Usagi in her current state and clearly understanding that her sister would never return back to her normal self unless the man submit to her request. Furthermore, she hated the man who activated Usagi into her killing mode, a psychic weapon.

So why must she save him?

Just let him kill himself.

But, there was one thing behind this entire mess that the invisible brunette couldn't stand watching as she steadily walked over to Usagi and placed her hand on her shoulder, _"Enough… Akatsuki…"_

"He asked for it…" The blonde twin murmured a response expressionlessly.

"_Baka neh..."_ Yuumei sighed. _"Can't you see you are worrying them?"_

"Them…?" Usagi repeated, apparently not recognizing who they were. Her current mentality perceived nothing besides wanting Tanaka to submit to her request. She wasn't even sure why she wanted him to apologize to Seiya in the first place.

Seiya?

Wait! Who was Seiya?

Her right hand slowly made its way up to her head as she tried to recall something or someone important.

Who? Who were they?

It was then when she felt the tight embrace from both sides.

"Don't leave…" Seiya hugging her on the left pleaded softly.

"Usagi…" Taiki embracing from the right called out gently, "Please, please come back…"

There, they stood for several long seconds in a warm embrace. Soon, Tanaka's insane yelling was heard dying down as he lost his conscious.

Usagi gradually opened her lids, revealing her eyes of sky-blue. Her lips was seen slowly curving into a pleasant smile as she positioned her hands across her chest and made the sign of a cross, embracing the two boys from between. The sound of the ambulance broke the silence, but still none of them move, outwardly in fear that she might disappear or something if they were to let go.

Usagi glanced up and saw her twin smiling warmly at her, _"Okaerinasai(Welcome back), Akatsuki…"_

"Hai…" Usagi smiled gently, glimpsing back at the two boys embracing her. "Tadaimasu (I'm back)…"

--


	13. Satan Tattoo: The Dream of Despair

--

**Satan Tattoo: The Dream of Despair**

--

"This is your next mission." The man in specs handed a sealed paper folder to the five teenage who had their faces hidden behind a cast of shadow. The uniforms they wore however were made vivid against the dull surrounding; black ties and white blouses, with the renowned logo, 'NPA' imprinted at the very left-side pocket of the uniform top.

They nodded quietly before the girl in the middle took the concealed folder over, unwind the brown envelop by its string and took out a bunch of photographs. They peered silently at the individual pictures of their next targets while waiting for further instruction from their authority.

"They are the infamous Aces." The superior indicated. "For the time being, we want you to retrieve as much information about them as possible. Especially this three…" The man lifted three individual photographs, the images of two charming looking boys and a cheerful blonde. "They are Seiya Kou, Taiki Kou and Usagi Tsukino."

"Yes. Dr. Kuro-sama."

"Him." Kuro directed Seiya's photo instructed. "The Yonkou are interested to know the maximum value to his destructiveness. Make him use his telekinetic power to his limit."

--

"_The Yonkou, literally Four Emperors, were the four most powerful psychics or magic users in the Satan Organization. They were the partners and associates of the Satan leader, Shinigami. Little was known about them, but presumably the mere existence of these powerful paranormal beings was enough to upset the World Government's authority." – Story facts._

--

"The Yonkou are intending to make the Nemesis as theirs?" One asked sounding a little envious.

"This, you don't have to know…" Kuro replied as he proceeded to Taiki's picture. "Next is…" He paused glaring at the photo of his Nemesis. Like Seiya and Usagi, Taiki was also on Satan top most wanted list. The Satan authority suspected the renowned genius of knowing a little too much about the Organization, seeing him as a threat because of his supreme intelligent. "As for him, we want you to find out exactly how much he really knows about us. But be very cautious when you are around this genius. If anyone is quick enough to uncover your secret identity, it's him. "

Kuro warned making the team sharpened their alertness as he picked up another photo. He paused in silent for a second directing the next target to the group. All the young Satan spies was seen focusing their attention on the picture of a sweet-looking blonde smiling cheerily straight at them.

"Cute…" One of the spy murmured under his breath.

"She's the most important." Kuro commented seriously. "A direct order from Saiga-kamisama, the Satan Organization wants her back."

The whole group was shock to know that this innocent-looking blonde held such essential to their organization, to the extent of even grabbing the all-great and powerful Satan's founder, Shinigami's attention. This was their first and most probably the last time to ever receive a direct order from the leader of Satan. Saiga was practically a god to all the young Satan spies. And wanting to impress _god_, they were very determined to succeed in this mission.

"Saiga-kamisama wants her back? Does it mean that Usagi Tsukino was part of us?" Another female spy standing at the extreme left quickly concluded.

"She was the first Satan Child ever to be granted with the Satan Tattoo." Kuro replied shortly, shocking the entire team. No one could believe what they had just heard. It was all Satan's followers' dream to obtain the Tattoo which signified the highest rank in the organization. The only paranormal beings powerful enough to be given the Satan Tattoo were namely members of the Great Powers of Satan.

--

"_The Great Powers of Satan was a team of extremely powerful, young, unique paranormal beings who are believed to be the Crime Organization secret weapons. It was still unknown on whom or exactly how many members the Great Powers team actually held but they were believed to be the main keys aside from the Yonkou for Satan to achieve world domination." – Story Facts. _

--

"What? She was once with the Great Powers?" One of the spies asked in shock.

"None of you need to know about this. All you need to know is your mission. Of course, we don't expect any of you to be capable enough to seize and bring her back to us. What we want you to achieve is to turn Usagi Tsukino back into a psychic weapon, meaning to lure her into using her power. Let her stay in that form long enough for us to identify her true ability. And after you have record it down, send an immediate copy back to base and we will follow up from there."

"Yes. Dr. Kuro-sama." The team bowed together.

--

* * *

--

"WAHHHHHH!! I can't take this anymore!!" Usagi yelled stressfully as she dropped dead on the table of books. "Minna(Everyone), please just let me die…"

"What are you saying, Usagi?" Taiki chuckled lightly at the grumbling blonde. The rest of the Aces were heard giggling under their breaths as they study through for the coming written exam. "The mid-final is only a week away. You can't just give up now…"

"I am not a genius like you, Taiki. Even if I work hard, I can never achieve good grades." Usagi with her chin still settled on her notebook muttered with a sigh.

"That's not true, Usagi. You don't have to be a genius to obtain good grades." Taiki pointed out with a smile. "Both Seiya and Yuki are not geniuses and yet they always excel in their studies."

"That's because we work hard for it." Seiya and Yuki answered together with a light grin.

"Liars." Usagi commented not believing their words. "You!" She pointed at Seiya. "You hardly write down any notes during lectures… and YOU…" She changed her target to Yuki. "Just today, during Mayu sensei's lecture, I caught you drawing a stick man without a head at the centre of your notebook."

"Usagi-san, you have a pretty powerful observation skill." Yuki stated in bewilderment.

"Instead of watching us, you should be paying more attention to the lesson." Seiya knocked Usagi on her head lightly. "You don't want to repeat a grade, do you?"

Usagi shook her head with a pout. "No."

Seiya smiled at her response and shifted his chair nearer to hers, "Don't worry, you are not repeating. I will help you out with your studies too."

"There's no need to trouble you, Seiya." Taiki forced a smile at the brunet who was seated directly opposite of him. "Usagi only needs me as her tutor."

"Take a rest, Taiki. You've been tutoring Odango for the past few hours…" Seiya argued back with a fake grin.

"I am not even a bit tired." Taiki claimed with a smirk. "Shouldn't you be studying too, Seiya? I'm sure Usagi will be disappointed if you fail to keep your result up in the top 10."

"You don't have to worry about me." Seiya spoke back directly. "I am confident enough to take the top 5 spot. Shouldn't you be worrying about yourself instead? Odango will be very upset if someone was to beat you off your first position."

"Don't worry. Unlike someone, I'll never make Usagi cry." Taiki answered still holding onto his fake smile.

"Can the two of you just quit it?!" Yaten exclaimed in agitation. "I am trying to teach Minako here!" The shaman glared angrily at his two friends before turning his attention back to his beloved Succubus.

The two rivals looked away at once, deciding to stop their argument. They glanced back at Usagi who had her upper-body rested on the table; napping away.

They sighed together pondering whether to wake her. Usagi had been through some pretty tiring weeks considering that the examination was just a few days away. Days were definitely dull and boring for her as all she did was tutoring and studying.

Taking off his jacket, Seiya thoughtfully rested it over the sleeping blonde, careful not to wake her. He would have secretly planted a kiss like always if he wasn't surrounded by his many comrades eyeing on him.

Taiki silently stood up, deciding to proceed to the kitchen for a refill. Walking passed the quiet Haruka, he caught him seriously sketching something in his empty notebook.

Weird. Unlike Usagi, Haruka took his studying and exams very seriously due to his interest, and to see him uncaringly doing some random drawings at a crucial time like this was definitely a strange sight.

The genius stopped his step and took another closer peep at his sketch. It was an awkward design of what seemed like a tattoo. Finding it familiar, he peered deeply at it. A second later, his eyes were seen widening and his jaw dropped with shock upon recognizing the whole symbol. "Haruka… This tattoo… Where did you…?"

Everyone except the sleeping Usagi lifted their heads, shifting their attention from their studies to the genius staring startlingly down at Haruka.

"I saw something like this in my dream. By the way, how did you know it was a tattoo?" Haruka asked.

"Dream?" Taiki paused for a second finally remembering that Haruka was a Precognition Sensor. "What else? What else did you see?! Besides this tattoo, what else did you see in your dream?!" The genius grabbing Haruka by his shoulders burst out, shocking everyone. This was their first time witnessing the all calm and intelligent Taiki acting so recklessly.

"Taiki…" Haruka blinked, shocked by his outrageous reaction.

For the next few seconds, the tense atmosphere was covered with pure silence till Taiki broke it with a soft apology.

"I'm sorry…" He looked down, feeling ashamed for losing his cool on Haruka.

"N-no… It's ok…" Haruka managed to give a reply despite his shock.

"Can you please tell me what else you saw in your dream besides that?" Taiki asked softly.

"Actually, it was very unclear." Haruka looking down at his sketch explained. "I only remembered seeing a girl with this tattoo standing in the middle of many dark unconscious bodies. Everyone faces were covered behind a shadow… I couldn't identify or get close to them. Then, a guy with his back against me will appear out of the darkness and embrace the girl. I couldn't catch what they were saying but it seemed like he was tearing. For some unknown reason, he lost his strength and landed on the black ground… but despite so he still reached out his hand hoping to hold onto her… but always… the girl would turned away and leave him…"

Seiya froze at the ending. Strangely, he felt sad and sorrow. But why? He couldn't understand. His body was trembling from an unknown fear. He glimpsed down at the sleeping Usagi feeling a sudden strong desire to hug her as tight as he could. Why? Why did he have this horrible feeling that she was going to leave him after hearing Haruka's vision?

"I've been repeatedly dreaming about this same scenario." Haruka continued. "I wonder if it's related to us."

"But, if Haruka is really seeing a premonition of our future…" Yaten spoke out seriously. "It only meant that…"

"It will really happen…" Yuki reactively continued.

"No." Taiki objected calmly. "Even if it's the vision from a Precognition Sensor or a highly trained Prophet, because it hadn't happen, the future is still not a 100 percent..."

"Guys, we really shouldn't be stressing over a trivial dream of mine." Haruka commented hoping to lighten the tension in the air. "It's very unclear with many missing pieces. Besides, there's no way of knowing whether it has anything to do with us. For all we knew, my dream might have no relation with our future at all."

"Yes." Yaten agreed. "Instead of worrying about this, we should be focusing our attention back to studies. Our mid-final is just a week away..."

Taiki remained silent. His body, mind and soul were buried with many uneasiness and worries as he glimpsed at the sleeping blonde. He knew very well that Haruka's dream was definitely related to them. Because that tattoo he saw was... it was…

"I need to talk to you."

Taiki looked up and found himself staring straight into Seiya's dim-blue eyes. The genius who clearly knew about Seiya's intention was feeling reluctant. But he understood that he can never avoid his questioning forever. Taiki spoke nothing as he quietly followed Seiya out of the study room.

--

"What are you hiding from us?" Seiya demanded after he had closed the door behind him.

"Not anything you need to know." Taiki answered simply and turned away from him. But before he could take another step further down the hallway, he felt himself being pulled back by a strong telekinetic force and the next thing he knew, Seiya was already grabbing onto his wrist firmly.

"Do you seriously think I will allow you to go just like that?" Seiya whispered sternly into Taiki's ear. "That tattoo design! I saw it before. It's on Usagi's upper left arm. You know something about it, don't you? Tell me! What are you hiding from us?!"

Taiki smirked with no intention of breaking loose from Seiya's tight hold, "Why don't you ask Usagi? If you really want to know so badly, why don't you just ask her?"

As expected, the genius words brought Seiya to loosen his grip. For a brief moment, he just stared wordlessly back at Taiki with a slight hint of sadness lingering through his midnight blue eyes.

"Because she will never tell you…" Taiki answered knowingly. "No matter how badly you desire to know, Usagi will never tell you."

"Why…?" Seiya muttered softly, his body shaking from the attacking jealousy and misery. He clenched his fists as he tried to fight off the painful emotions. Because it was hurting him inside. It hurts so much.

"Why?! Why is it you? Why isn't it me? Why is it always you that she chose to talk to?!"

Yes, why was it so? Why was it always Taiki who knew everything? Why can't she just talk to him as well? No matter how many times he asked, she would avoid opening up to him. She had no idea how excluded and unwanted he felt when she kept everything from him. Why? Was it because she trusted Taiki more or simply because he wasn't good enough in her eyes?

"Why?" Taiki lifted his face revealing his violet eyes of envious. "Why!? That's because she loves you! Damn it! She loves you!" The genius snapped. "There! Shouldn't you be satisfied now?! What's more do you want to know?!"

Seiya face shot up to Taiki's, completely in shock. What was he saying? Usagi loves him? He wasn't sure that he had heard him right, but he had no memories or whatsoever of Usagi telling him this. She hardly tole him anything, not her feelings for him or anything more about her.

"All this while, she was trying to protect you." Taiki struggled to regain his composure. "Do you know the consequences if you were caught knowing too much about Usagi?"

"Consequences?" Seiya stared perplexingly at Taiki still trying to absorb his words.

"If it's not death…" Taiki answered seriously, his eyed on Seiya for a second longer before turning away. "All your memories you had with her will be eradicated, waking up the very next day not even recognizing the name Usagi Tsukino. If you don't wish for such things to happen…" Taiki warned before disappearing down the stairs. "Avoid knowing too much…"

--

* * *

--

Taiki proceeded back into his room. Closing the door behind him, he dropped himself on his bed and closed his eyes. He kept them shut. His face gave none of his thoughts away. For years, he had trained himself to look cool, collected on the outside, but that was the complete opposite of what he really felt now. Inside, he suffered everyday from knowing too much about Usagi and her relationship with Satan. No, he wasn't exactly worried about his safety. He was afraid of losing her, scared to be capture and then forced to forget ever knowing her. He would rather choose death because he definitely didn't want to live a life without remembering her existence. She gave him this happy life. He would have ended his meaningless life nine years ago if it wasn't for her. And, to lose all his memories of her was like taking away his purpose to live, so what's the point of being alive then?

The genius knew that Satan will definitely take his existence into consideration and it wouldn't take them very long to finally set him under one of their wanted target. But instead of worrying about being targeted, Taiki was more concern over Haruka's vision. If that girl in his dream was Usagi, which most probably was due to the tattoo significant, then it only meant that she will be leaving the Aces in the future.

Taiki clenched his hands and placed his fist over his eyes. No! He's not allowing that to happen. No matter what, he'll change the future. But how? There are things even a genius like him can't do, and changing fate might be one of them. But, he couldn't just lie here and do nothing about it right?

Shifting his hand away, Taiki slowly lifted his lids and to his astonishment, he found himself looking straight up into a pair of black orbs.

"Boo!"

He startlingly shot up sitting upright in his bed. Turning his head, Taiki faced the giggling girl seated on his bed.

"Yeah! I've managed to scare you again." The brunette cheered, extending a 'V' fingering sign towards him.

"Yuu…mei…" Taiki murmured her name, his face still holding the expression of disbelief.

Yuumei pouted at his reaction and folded her arms, "I guess I am not wanted. You don't look very happy to see me."

"No! Of course not!" Taiki shot up onto his feet in great objection. "I-I was just surprise. It had been months since I last saw you and I didn't hear you coming in…"

"I'm a stealth assassin neh!" Yuumei replied half-jokingly. Taiki continued peering at the brunette who looked very much like Usagi. Not only in appearances, but the way they talk and smile were pretty much the same. Overall, it did look like the twins share the same personality though in Taiki's view, Yuumei seemed more mysterious compared to Usagi. Maybe it was due to the lack of knowledge about her.

Though Taiki got most of his source regarding Satan from Yuumei and his private investigation, he was near clueless about her preferences. Indeed, she was very unpredictable as the genius was never able to calculate anything about her; not what she's about to say or do next. And, he still couldn't figure out why she can suddenly appear out of nowhere, as if she was a spirit or some sort. But from his understanding of the dead, he was certain that she wasn't one. It must be her ability then. But, what sort of ability would allow someone to appear like a ghost? The knowledgeable genius definitely didn't come across such a paranormal aptitude. He, however, suspected her state as part of an astral projection, but was it even possible for one to control such paranormal activity so effortlessly?

--

"_Astral projection or astral travel is a paranormal interpretation of an out-of-body experience. The concept assumes the existence of another body, separated from the physical body and capable of traveling to non-physical planes of existence." – Story facts._

--

"Neh Taiki…" Yuumei smiled the same grin as Usagi's making Taiki blush a little. "You are intending to continue investigating on the Satan spies despite my warning?"

Taiki nodded quietly and turned towards his desk. He picked up a stack of papers and began going through them. "According to my analysis, the possibility of the Satan spies being among the students of the academy is close to a 90 percent. There's a strange 30 percent increase of the newcomers in the 1st and 2nd years…"

"I'm confiscating this!" Yuumei effortlessly snatched the stack of documents over from Taiki. "Didn't you promise Akatsuki that you'll never get too involve with Satan? You should just trust the NPIF to deal with the spies."

"For the past two months, the NPIF seems to have no progression with identifying them." Taiki replied, his expression in deep thought. "And, I have this strong intuition that Haruka's vision is actually the aftermath of this, so…"

"Baka…" Yuumei interrupted knocking Taiki lightly on his head with her knuckles. He looked confusingly at her not getting why she always thought of him as silly or stupid.

"Even though you know that this is partially a trap set by Satan, you are still intending to step into it? Baka neh! Akatsuki will be very upset if she finds out about your secret investigation… "

"But, I can't just pretend that I knew nothing especially when Satan is targeting Usagi and maybe even the entire Aces." Taiki opposed.

"The high authority of Satan is never interested in the weak and incapable." Yuumei informed with a light smile. "You will be alerting the Yonkou if the spies were to identify your capabilities as significance. So, don't challenge them. You and the rest of the Aces will be fine as long as they don't note you as worthy."

"No…" Taiki clutched his fists showing his stubbornness. "What about Usagi? She will still be targeted…"

"I'll protect her." Yuumei interrupted with a soothing grin. "Besides, the last thing Satan will want to do is to harm Akatsuki."

"But Haruka's vision…"

Yuumei abruptly placed her finger over Taiki's lips, stopping his insistence.

"I guess no matter what I say, you'll still insist to get involve with this matters neh?" Yuumei asked almost in a whisper and smiled. She removed her finger not noticing the faint pink coating on Taiki's cheeks. "You are really a baka. No wonder Akatsuki requested me to watch over you. But even if she didn't…" She lifted her lids and smiled cheerily at Taiki. "I personally would too."

Taiki's jaw dropped open by an inch, surprised by her statement. After a brief moment of silence, he managed to response back with a gentle smile, "Thank you. But, instead of watching over us, shouldn't you be worrying about yourself? As Usagi's twin, I'm sure you are being targeted by Satan too."

"Me? Targeted?" Yuumei giggled lightly much to Taiki's surprise. Was he wrong? Like Usagi, she was an escapist from Satan too right? Don't they want her? Satan is definitely not careless enough to overlook her unique ability.

Finally, Yuumei stopped laughing and replied mysteriously, "They don't need to…"

Taiki blinked gazing at her trying to figure out what she meant. She looked back at him not giving him any clues or hints that would help him to understand what she was referring to.

"Hehe! You don't have to worry!" Yuumei broke the silence as she patted Taiki lightly on his shoulder and smiled. "Whatever happens, I'll be there… by Akatsuki's side… and yours too… like always…"

--

* * *

--

It was in the middle of the night when Usagi finally woke up from her nap. She awoke to a large dim room that she recognized as her own. Beside her, the adorable looking lamp on the nightstand was left on. She blinked as a yawn escaped her mouth. Attempting to raise her right hand to cover it, she found it restrained. Dumfounded, she glanced down at her hand and found it enveloped by a different hand. Her eyes followed the hand to the arm, then to the long black hair brushing over the shoulder, and then, finally to the young man kneeling beside the bed she was in. His face was turned away from her, but she knew who he was.

"Seiya?" Usagi breathed, using her other hand to shake his shoulder.

After a few seconds of calling his name, Seiya finally opened his eyes and stared at her until the sign of sleep faded from his face.

"Odango…" He murmured rubbing his eyes.

Usagi gazed innocently at him and smiled. "Seiya? What are you doing here? You will catch a cold if you sleep like this."

Seiya thought over this for a second before he remembered what had happened several hours ago. He had carried Usagi from the study room back to her bed and because he couldn't bear to leave her, he drowsily dozed off an hour later while holding onto her hand. Because of Haruka's vision and Taiki's words, the fear of losing her increased dramatically. He didn't want to leave her side, not even for a second. For all he knew, she might just vanish the second he wasn't looking. But, he can't possibly spend a night in her room since they weren't kids anymore right?

"What's wrong Seiya? Is there something bothering you?" Usagi peered at Seiya concernedly wondering why he wasn't responding to her previous question. He was still holding firmly onto her hand, unwilling to let it go. Usagi sat straight up and scooted to the edge of the bed, letting him rest his head on her lap.

"What happened? Did you have a bad dream?" She asked gently, letting her fingers get lost in his thick mop of hair as she stroked his back soothingly.

"_Bad dream?"_ Seiya silently wished he was the one having the bad dream instead of Haruka. At the very least, he knew that whatever horrible dream he dreamt, it might never come true unlike one foreseen by a Sensor. If only she's willing to open up to him, maybe then, he won't have to suffer from all these worries and uncertainties.

Seiya wasn't sure whether he should be telling Usagi about Haruka's vision. He didn't wish to worry her. For all they knew, the girl in Haruka's dream might not even be Usagi at all. That was a positive thinking. So, what about the Tattoo then? Unless, there's another female with the same tattoo imprint, if not, he couldn't convince himself that she wasn't going to leave him somewhere in the dark future.

"Odango, there's something I would like to ask you." Seiya lifted his head, finally breaking the silence. "It's regarding the tattoo in your upper left arm... I saw it by accident…" He locked his dark blue eyes to her shocked ones.

Usagi froze at his statement. H-how did he know? She was sure she had never revealed her tattoo to him before as it had always been well-hidden behind a layer of cosmetic.

The room was consumed by still quietness. None of them said anything, each waiting for the others response.

"It's… It's a curse." Usagi glimpsed away from Seiya's stare as her right hand reactively flew to her left, slowly moving up to where the tattoo silently lay hidden. She bit her lips, hating the tattoo that reminded her about her ugly past and origin. Yes! It was a curse; a deadly curse which forbids her freedom, telling her she'll always belong to Satan no matter where she was or who she was with.

Usagi glanced up in surprise when she felt a hand gently placed over her right. She gazed quizzically at Seiya who lovingly took her hand into his, prying it away from its grip on the tattoo.

"Is there anything I can do to help ease your pain?" It didn't sound like a question, but more of a plea. After seeing the hurtful look etched on her face, Seiya regretted deeply for bringing the topic up. Rarely did she get upset over anything. The only time he had seen her holding such painful expression was during their first farewell. He didn't like it at all and he wasn't sure if he could handle anymore sadness from her. Frowns and tears just didn't suit her face.

Usagi didn't say anything. She just smiled lightly at him before leaning downwards and settled her forehead onto his left shoulder. A sniffing sound escaped her lips.

"Odango?" Seiya's face contorted with worry. Was she crying? He prayed she wasn't. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he attempted to pull her away from him so as to check on her.

"Don't move, please." Usagi requested softly. "Just stay like that. I just want to stay this way…"

Seiya gave in to her request, allowing her to rest on his shoulder. He couldn't say no to his angel. Even if she asked him to run the world ten times, he'd do it. It's impossible to refuse her.

But little did he knows, that Usagi was trying her hardest not to cry without an avail. The endless tears were sliding down her cheeks despite her effort to keep them in. Why? Why was she crying again? Was it because she didn't want to go back to Satan? Yes! She didn't want to! She wants to stay as an Ace and be with them forever. But can she? How long can she keep her promise to see the sunrise with him everyday? Maybe that's why she was hurt. Because she wasn't sure when she'll be leaving him…

If she was to break her promise he'll definitely be upset, won't he? Imagining his tears just made her heart throb terribly. She didn't want to hurt him in any ways. And that's the reason why she avoided telling him about Satan or anything about her true identity…

It was all because she didn't want Seiya to ever forget knowing her…

Keeping her face downcast on his shoulder, she tried to hide her tears away from him. For some reasons, she didn't want him to see her cry. It was mainly because she knew that it would only upset her further to see his grief due to hers.

Seiya leaned over her body, wrapping his arms around her. He laid his head down on the top of her shoulder in an awkward embrace. None of them spoke anything, each taking in the others warmth and comfort. It was a peculiar thing; they need no words or effort, just each others to lighten the many grief and sorrows buried in their hearts that night. If only they could stay like this forever, maybe they could avoid the predicted misery ahead; one that could break them apart _forever_.

--

* * *

--

It had been three long, rough and rigorous weeks for most of the students in the national psychical academy, especially Usagi. She can't recall a single day without burying herself with tons of books and notes. Many times, she would find herself playing hide and seek with Taiki as she tried to escape from his tutoring.

She hated revising for exams more than anything in the world and now that the mid-final was over, she feared knowing her result. She was totally clueless to how well she actually did despite Taiki's strenuous teaching. For all she knew, she might score terrible enough to be ranked in the last spot of the entire first years. How humiliating! How was she supposed to face Taiki who spent sleepless nights preparing her for the examinations then?

Usagi crouched at a dark corner, her finger drawing invisible circles on the floor as she prepared for the worse.

"Usagi, aren't you going over with us to check on your results?" Minako bending over to the gloomy blonde asked.

"You go ahead first, Minako-chan." Usagi responded still drawing circles. "I'll join all of you later."

"Minako! Usagi! Hurry over!" Yaten called out. He and the rest of the Aces were among the mass of noisy students crowded around the big announcement board.

"Hai! Coming!" Minako shouted back and grabbed Usagi by her arms dragging her along much to her reluctance. "Let's go, Usagi."

"Wait! Wait! Minako! I'm not mentally prepared yet…" Usagi opposed trying to break loose from Minako's pulls but to no avail since a succubus had physical strength much greater than a normal human.

Usagi eventually gave in, joining the many students who had their head craned up searching for their names under the academic results publication.

"Unbelievable! There are two first placing this semester..."

Usagi ears perked with interest at the statement as her eyes instinctively flew to the two names at the top spots. As usual, Taiki's name was bolded high up there. Usagi was sure that Taiki was smart enough to top not only the entire first year but the whole academy. But, she couldn't believe anyone in the world could be as brilliant as him. Scoring full marks for every paper and even ranked first with Taiki? Who was this person?

Usagi strained her eyes at the name, _"Ami Mizuno from Class 1-D."_

Was she a new student? Usagi wasn't sure since she wasn't in the same class with this Ami Mizuno person. But, one thing was for certain, she didn't like seeing the possibility of someone being better than Taiki.

"Guess whose result is ranked under 54th?"

Usagi's thought was pushed away by the light pat on her shoulder. She spun around only to find Taiki smiling down at her.

"Eh?" She cocked her head slightly to her right not getting his words. Taiki wordlessly grinned and targeted his index to the direction of the board. Following his point, Usagi's eyes widened with surprise when she found her name under the 54th spot. She couldn't believe her eyes. She passed?! What's more her result was among the top 60?!

"I-I passed! I passed!" Usagi burst out with joy. She happily flung herself and embraced Taiki much to everyone surprise. "Thank you, Taiki! I don't have to repeat a semester! Thank you, Taiki! Thank you!"

Taiki stiffened at the spot, taken aback by her warm embrace. A delighted smile etched across his lips as he adoringly hugged her back and whispered. "You're most welcome."

Immediately, another pair of hands slipped themselves under Usagi's armpits, snatching her away and breaking the embrace.

"Give her back to me." Seiya pulled Usagi into his chest possessively, glaring irately at Taiki at the same time.

Now, all attention was on the two Aces whose eyes were seen sending spiteful electrocuting waves into one another's.

"Wow! Yuki's in 4th place! Seiya's in the 5th!" Usagi exclaimed in excitement interrupting the two boys' glares.

Still embraced inside Seiya's arms, Usagi continued peering at the results publication board. Her eyes were seen scanning up and down every so often in search for her other friends' names. She found Haruka's name in the 9th placing, Yaten's in the 13th and Minako' in the 24th.

"Eh? My result is the worse in the team?!" Usagi cried dropping down to the ground and started drawing circles again. "I am the worse… I am the worse…" she began her low morale chanting.

"No, you are not." Seiya bended down and stroked her back as he murmured comforting words to her.

"Cheer up, Usagi! You did pretty well." The rest of the Aces encircled around the crouching blonde as they tried consoling her individually.

"Is there something wrong?" A stranger voice asked. Usagi craned her head up and stared at the young man with short, dark brown hair. He held out his hand to her, offering to help her up but was instantly interrupted by Seiya who arrogantly took a step forward, keeping himself between Usagi and the stranger.

"Who are you? And what do you want?" He demanded suspiciously.

"Oh, oh… I mean no harm." The boy took a step back from the Aces before introducing himself. "If I'm not mistaken, you are the infamous Aces Team right? I am the new vice-head of the Student Council for the 1st year, Souji Hachijou. Nice to meet you."

"Souji! What's taking you so long? The briefing is about to start soon!" A relatively tall girl ran forth and grabbed Souji by his arm. "What have you done?! Are you causing troubles to others again?!"

"Of course not! I was just trying to make some friends!" Souji exclaimed as he tried to break loose from the girl's strong grip.

"Souji, Makoto? What's the matter?" All eyes turned to the approaching girl with short, blue hair.

"Ami-chan! Souji is disturbing the Aces!" Makoto exclaimed immediately.

"No, I am not! I was just trying to be friendly!" Souji protested glaring annoyingly at Makoto and the two continue quarrelling among each other.

Ami shook her head at her friends' childish action before gazing over to the quiet Aces. "I'm sorry for their rudeness." She bow apologetically to the group and held out her hand to Taiki. "You must be Taiki-san. Nice to meet you. I am Ami Mizuno, the first years new branch chief of the student council."

"Nice to meet you." Taiki smiled and extended his hand out to hers. He had shaken her hand already before everyone shifted their attention to their locked hands. "Congratulations for doing so well in the mid-finals."

"Iiee... It's nothing compared to Taiki-san's past achievements." Ami replied humbly with a faint blush. "I've heard plenty of your amazing records from Chiba-senpai."

"Mamoru-san always exaggerates. They are nothing." Taiki smiled and someone pulling him by the sleeve. He looked down only to find Usagi frowning in disagreement, "No, no... Your achievements are incredible…"

After chuckling lightly at her compliment, everyone watched as Taiki bended over to Usagi's ear and whispered, "Thank you."

Usagi happily nodded. Then, she felt someone slipping his hand into hers, pulling her away from Taiki and the group. "Hai, hai… Let's get going, Odango! We will be late for the battle tournament briefing if we continue standing here."

Usagi didn't resist as she cheerily followed Seiya down the hallway.

"I'll see you later then." Taiki glimpsed at Ami for another short second before he dashed front, chasing after the couple. The rest of the Aces trailed behind leisurely chatting among themselves not bothering to turn back to check on the three student committees.

"They are nicer than I thought." Makoto commented.

"Usagi-san is cuter than I thought." Souji followed.

"Pervert." Makoto glaring at Souji asserted.

Ami giggled lightly as her two friends began their next argument. "We should get going too." She stated, walking down the long passageway that led them to the briefing hall.

--

* * *

--

All students of the first years to the third were assembled in the large hall as they waited for the battle examination briefing to begin.

"Hm? Have you finally found a nemesis?" Yaten signifying Ami with his pencil asked.

Taiki eyed shortly at Ami who was seated at the far end corner and shook his head. "No." He casually pointed his thumb to the brunet on his right. "He's the Nemesis."

"You mean I'm your Nemesis." Seiya corrected Taiki, glancing at him by the corner of his eyes.

"Eh?! But why?" Usagi exclaimed in surprise and confusion. "The two of you shouldn't be fighting over anything. It's always nice to share."

The whole team stared disbelievingly at Usagi for a moment and sighed. "Some things can't be shared, Usagi. Especially love…" Haruka stated with a hint.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Usagi asked for clarification, not quite understanding the meaning behind his words. Why can't love be shared? She loves all her friends and the Aces were like a family to her. In the end, she was still clueless to exactly what Seiya and Taiki were rivaling about.

"Never mind." The entire team said at once. _"She's so dense."_

"Eh?! Eh?!"

But before Usagi could question further, the vice-principal stepped up to the stage and started the briefing with an introduction, drawing everyone attention to him.

"Since the class battle examination was initially started by Seinagi Private High. We have invited Kenjiro-san, the chairman of the magical art at Seinagi High to explain the rules further." The vice-principal passed the microphone over to Kenjiro and headed down the stage. Instruction papers were being passed out to the students while Kenjiro began speaking clearly through the microphone.

"Everyone please read through the instruction sheets carefully and stick with the rules. As indicated, the battle examination is a tournament between classes of the same year. Each team selects 7 members to be soldiers for the fight. During the three hours of game play, the two versus teams will be positioned on the mount behind the school."

Upon obtaining the instruction papers, Usagi browsed through the indication with interest. She was very excited and couldn't wait for the class battle examination to begin. To Usagi, this form of assessment method was way more interesting compared to written examination.

Instruction notes for the first year:

"The Class battle examination is a tournament between the 4 classes: 1-A, 1-B, 1-C, and 1-D.

Team Formation:

Each team composed of 7 players: 2 Attackers, 2 Defenders, 2 Spies and 1 King.

Each player has a **PaintBal**l(PB): inside pendant for Attackers, Defenders and Spies and Crown for King. When PB of a player is destroyed, they are disqualified (which means they must leave the battle ground immediately.) You can destroy the PB of an enemy either by physical or magical attacks. The inside of the PB is filled with a colored fluid: Red for Attackers, Yellow for Spies and Blue for Defenders.

--

The Players information:

_Attackers_: An attacker character pendant radiates when an enemy is within a radius of 5m, unless the enemy is a Spy. He gets 6 points when he destroys the PB of an enemy Attacker or Defender, but gets a penalty of 6 points if they destroy the PB of a Spy. Attackers are the only ones who can destroy the King PB.

_Spies_: A spy character pendant radiates when the enemy King is within a radius of 20m. However, he cannot attack the King but his power is required to find him. A spy gets 3 points if he destroys the PB of an enemy.

_Defenders_: A defender character is to protect the King. A defender pendant radiates when an enemy is within 5m radius. Defenders receive 2 points if they destroy the PB of an enemy.

_King_: The King character can attack enemy players, but will not receive any points for doing so.

--

Victory is achieved either if:

An attacker destroys the PB of enemy King _or_ a team gets more than 25 points.

--

_First Round_: There are 4 teams for each class. The one winning team that shows the best fights quality will represent their respective class for round two.

_Second Round_: There are two matches. The two winning classes will proceed to final round.

_Final Battle_: Yet to be announced."

--

"However, causing injuries to an opponent to the extent that they need medical treatment and removing or hiding the PaintBall from your body are strictly forbidden! Also, exchanging PB after the beginning of the game and leaving the battle area are against the rule. There will be a referee ball which acts as a rely camera. It is used to verify and referee the battle between the students. So, be careful and follow the rules accordingly." Kenjiro added.

"This is so fun! Please remind me to thank Sofu for bringing in such a fun activity!" Usagi clapped happily. "I want to be a spy! I want to be a spy!" She insistently pulled Taiki by his sleeve.

"Attacker." Seiya requested shortly.

"Defenders…" Yaten and Yuki said together. "And Minako can be the King." Yaten holding onto Minako's hand smiled. She nodded happily, agreeing with whatever her master said.

"Everyone hold on for a second." Taiki drawing his team attention to him continued. "Unfortunately, I don't think we have a choice for the characters selection here."

"Eh?! Why?" Usagi was the first to burst out. She wanted to be the spy character! It was fun since she gets to be the one to travel about, locate the opponent King and battle at the same time.

Her question was answered immediately by Kenjiro, "There's one team with a combination of power gauges that outmatched the rest of the first years. In order to maintain the battle's fairness, after a discussion we came up with the foiling decision. The team will not get to choose freely the characters they will be playing as. Instead, a character rolling system is established specially for them to determine the pick of characters. That team is the Aces! Can the Aces please stand up and proceed to the supervision room with us? We will start the character rolling at this instant."

All eyes instantly flew to the infamous team seated at the very back.

"Eh?! We really don't get to choose?" Usagi shot up from her seat cried.

"It's expected, Usagi. With twp unique-leveled in our team, it's only fair that we don't get to pick." Taiki explained as he stood up. "It's like adding a little challenge to the battle, so we won't be able to win easily."

"What's the difference? We'll win anyway." Seiya asserted confidently as he led his team out of the briefing hall.

--

* * *

--

"We have specially designed this processor program to determine your individual character's pick." Kenjiro standing behind the operating desktop explained. The Aces craned their heads up, staring at the big, wide plasma screen which projected their respective passport sized photos and names.

"Let's start the characters rolling…"

All was quiet as Kenjiro hit the red button and the characters generating began linking all the individual photos with the respective character roles.

"…" A minute of awkward silence filled the room as they peered carefully at each other's roles.

Attackers: _Yuki Sohma, Minako Aino_

Spies: _Haruka Tenoh, Yaten Kou_

Defenders: _Seiya Kou, Taiki Kou_

King: _Usagi Tsukino_

Then, before anyone could grumble out of shock and dissatisfaction, Taiki declare a notification after flipping through the fourth page of the information sheet, "Guess who we are up against first?" He lifted his eyes to Yaten's and Minako's.

"It's Rei Hino's team."

--

* * *

--

_Credit: Seinagi Private High School is from Mx0_


	14. The Satan Spies Scheme, the Aces Counter

--

**The Satan Spies Scheme, the Aces Counter**

--

A six years old blonde glanced oddly at the dead, silent corpses around her. Why wasn't anyone moving? And why are there stains of blood everywhere? The little girl couldn't recall anything that had just happened several minutes ago. She glimpsed confusingly at her father who was chuckling happily besides her.

"Daddy, why aren't the uncles moving? Are they asleep?" The little blonde asked her father innocently.

"No, no. My precious Akatsuki…" Her father bended down and patted her on the head with a bright smile. "They are not asleep. They died."

"Died?" Akatsuki creased her forehead slightly out to confusion. "Why did they die?"

"Because of you, silly." Her father answered still holding onto his smile. "You did a great job, Akatsuki! You are a perfect psychic weapon! Daddy is so proud of you!"

The little Akatsuki beamed at her father, absorbing his praise innocently. "Will mummy be proud of me too?"

"Yes, I'm sure she will." Her father peered admiringly at Akatsuki. "You looked just like your mother, Akatsuki. Filled with unspeakable beauty and capability… And together, we shall avenge your mother! We will destroy the filthy legacy of the Kou's, the entire Psychical State and then… The World! Yes! Your mother will be very happy! We will avenge her! We will avenge her!" He grasped his daughters by her shoulders and exclaimed with excitement. "You'll support daddy, won't you? You'll be with daddy forever right?!"

Akatsuki nodded with a grin, "Hai!"

The dark-headed man smiled back at his daughter, "Daddy loves Akatsuki very much. You belong to daddy and daddy only. Come, follow daddy..."

"Where are we going, daddy?" Akatsuki craned her head up and asked as she followed her father out of the experiment room and into the hallway.

"Daddy is going to give you a present." He looked down at his daughter and smiled.

"Present?" The little blonde eyes enlarged with happiness.

"Yes…" Her father smiled. "It's a little painful though. But, Akatsuki is a strong girl. You can endure it. And when it's done, Akatsuki will become mine forever!"

It was during that very night when everything became permanent. The drilling sound produced by an electric tattoo machine overpowered her cries of pain as a unit of needles rapidly and repeatedly drives in and out of her skin, inserting dark inks and creating her mark of identification.

The Satan Tattoo became her symbol of forbidden freedom.

--

* * *

--

Shuddering, Seiya awoke in the middle of the night due to the draft he felt against his skin. He slowly opened his eyes, rubbing them as he scanned the room for the source of the breeze. He noticed that his balcony doors were opened, letting in the chilly, night air. Strange. He recalled closing those doors before sleeping. Then, he found a shadow standing several feet away from him. It was too dark to make out any facial features, but still, he could tell that this person wasn't someone he knew.

"Who are you?!"

As soon as Seiya shot up onto his feet, the intruder inexplicably turned invisible. Surprised, Seiya glanced around the room wildly trying to locate the sight of the intruder. Then, he felt a sharp needle jabbed into his upper right arm as the invisible attacker force an unknown drug into his body.

Startled, he raised his arm forcefully, breaking the injection. Even though he couldn't distinguish the attacker by sight, he activated his PK energy around him, sending the invisible person flying back.

From the sound to where the attacker had hit against, Seiya swiftly dashed across to the edge of his bed as his hands blindly search for a contact to the unseen intruder.

"What did you inject into me?!" He demanded sternly managing to grab the invisible person by the collar. There was no response, only heavy breathing was heard as the attacker struggled to break free from Seiya's strong hold.

Despite the drug taking it's effect inside Seiya's body, he still managed to pin the intruder firmly onto his bed. "Tell me! Who sent you here?! What's your purpose?!"

Still the intruder remained quiet. Seiya could feel his head growing dizzier as the second passed but he wasn't going to give up and let this person escape just yet. He can't afford to let this intruder go about hurting his friends and Usagi. Wrestling his fingers down to the chest area, Seiya angrily shoved the invisible figure down harder against his bed, not allowing him to escape.

Then Seiya froze for a second, taking in that his hands were pushing against a soft chest as the intruder let out a feminine scream.

It wasn't a 'Him', it was a HER!

"A girl?!" Seiya shockingly backed away, his hands quickly withdrawing from her chest.

Then, the house security alarm rang awaking all the other sleeping souls.

Shoving Seiya away, the invisible girl hastily got out of bed and leaped off from the balcony. Seiya didn't make an attempt to chase, he couldn't. His head was begging him to lose conscious and his vision was getting hazy. Collapsing onto the bed, he groaned, his hands flew and clinched onto his hairs.

"Seiya! Are you alright?!"

He heard the door flung open and saw the light switched on. Then, he felt someone hugging him into her chest tightly, calling out his name worriedly. He recognized that voice.

"Odango…"

He battled to keep his eyes opened, so he could see his beloved angel for a moment longer. He didn't want to lose conscious especially when she was around.

Strangely, beside the blurry vision of her concerned face, Seiya couldn't see anyone else or hear anything. Not her cries, not Taiki calling out to him, not his friends worried murmurings. Why can't he hear anything? Why can't he see anything else besides her crying expression?

"Don't cry…" Seiya lifted his hand, the side of his finger slid under her left eye wiping away her escaping tears. It hurts him badly to see her tears and he couldn't understand why he was always so good at making her sad. He felt her grasp against his hand and saw her beaming weakly at him.

He smiled at her before his lids became too heavy to bear causing him to lose conscious.

--

Usagi had lost track of time long ago even with the clock a few feet away from her. The window served as a good clock with the moon high in the sky but she didn't pay attention to it. She couldn't, not with Seiya in front of her unconscious. He hadn't waked up since he fainted hours ago. Usagi stared at him squeezing his hand tightly begging him to awake.

She heard the door opened and Taiki walking in towards them, but Usagi's gaze did not budge away from Seiya.

"Seiya should be fine." Taiki pausing behind Usagi placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "He should wake up soon. It's really late now. And I've advised the others to get some rest. You should too, Usagi. Don't worry. I will monitor him from here."

"Neh, Taiki…" Usagi began in a small voice.

To Taiki's surprise, she turned around and held onto his hand tightly, peering seriously into his enlarged eyes. For a second, Taiki just froze at her intenseness. She wasn't smiling or crying, her expression, he noticed, was almost blank. Somehow, it scared him as it almost seemed like he was looking at a completely different person right now. Those were the unemotional eyes she would always portray whenever she was about to evolve into a psychic weapon. But to his relief, her irises didn't darken, keeping the blues.

"Don't get involve with Satan. Stop investigating on the Satan spies." Usagi demanded in a serious tone.

Taiki didn't respond. He looked away showing his stubbornness to obey to her request. How could she expect him to not do anything especially after they had host an attack on Seiya? Since the spies had made their first move, there are so many things he needed to follow up with. Somehow, they outwitted him. He didn't expect them to strike tonight, underestimating their ability to break through his well-designed security system. Now, he blamed himself for failing to protect Seiya and he wasn't going to let his guard down the next time round. He can't afford to let them hurt Usagi or his friends. So, it was impossible for him to sit about and do nothing.

Then, Taiki felt a sudden push on his shoulders and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the carpeted floor with Usagi glaring down at him. Paralyzed from shock, he made no attempt to shove away the blonde who was on top of him. Her untied golden locks curtained his side views, limiting his vision to her intense blue eyes, "Satan! Satan did this to Seiya, didn't they?" Usagi exclaimed, grasping Taiki by the collar of his pajamas. She had every reason to believe that it was Satan's doings behind Seiya's unconsciousness. Though her head was aching from all the overflowing thoughts, she was determined to straighten things out, "I don't know what they did to him! But I know… now I know who they might target next…"

Despite her serious gaze, Taiki found struggling tears hanging by the edge of her eyes. Tightening her grab against his collar, she leaned closer down towards him, "Why?! Why are you such a baka?! Even though you know that you are their next target, why do you still get involve with them?!"

She angrily pulled him up towards her till their lips were barely an inch apart. "You know too much, Taiki! You are not allowed to know so much about Satan! If they caught you, they are going to manipulate you, use you and trap you as theirs! You'll have no freedom, no future!! Nothing!! Can't you understand this?! Baka!!"

Usagi raised her hand, like she was going to slap Taiki in the face which made him shut his eyes, with no intention to resist from her slap. But instead, Usagi wrapped her arms around his neck drawing him into her embrace.

"I can't control myself…" Her tone softened but still serious. "The next time if something like this was to happen to Seiya or you, I'll definitely turn into a psychic weapon… So, don't let them hurt you… please… don't get involve with Satan. Just pretend you know anything…"

"Usagi…" Taiki breathed her name, enfolding his arms affectionately around her. He understands her worries and could imagine all the evil things Satan would do to him, but he couldn't picture his life without her. He would rather be taken away by Satan so he could be with her than to live a life of freedom but couldn't get to see her again.

"You…"

Both Taiki and Usagi ears perked up at the all too familiar voice. They quickly withdrew themselves and glanced up at the woken brunet staring down at them with an odd look imprinted on his charming face.

"Seiya! You are awake!" A bright smile instantly etched on Usagi's lips as she jumped up onto her feet and flung herself to him.

Seiya flinched at her embrace before he pushed her away much to their surprise. Usagi broke loose from the hold and stared at him questionably, not understanding his resistance towards her hug. He looked back at her oddly and cocked his head to his right asking, "Who are you?"

--

* * *

--

"What?! You managed to inject the PX-T medication into the Nemesis?" Two voices exclaimed at once.

"You are being reckless, Michiru." The girl with short, blue hair turned her attention from the desktop screen to her comrade who was stripping down from the invisible suit. "We didn't agree on any of the procedures yet. Do you know the risk of you getting caught in regards to your previous action?"

"Risk? You should know me well enough, Ami-chan. I'll never perform any operation in which I've no confident in. And, just like I've expected, your designed suit of invisibility is really helpful. Thank you." Michiru smiled, handing the invisible suit back to her team leader.

Ami sighed and took the piece over. "I trust your capabilities, but at least inform us before you do something like this the next time round."

"Like you said, tonight is the best time to strike. I was just going along with your analysis, Ami-chan." Michiru responded still holding onto her smile. "To be able to outwit the world renowned genius, Taiki Kou, you're really incredible."

"Not really…" Ami shook her head lightly. "I spent several months just trying to hack into the Aces' district security system, but yet, I only managed to suspend the warning alarm for just 3 minutes. Taiki-san is the incredible one, not me."

"Thanks to the delay, I managed to accomplish the operation. You should be taking the credit too." Michiru patted Ami on the shoulder.

"I still can't believe you are able to inject the PX-T into the Nemesis, Michiru-san" A young man with dark brown hair exclaimed. "From what we know, he's really tough to deal with."

"He is…" Michiru nodded with a faint blush. "He's the first man I've encountered who was able to fight back even with a powerful anesthetic drug running inside him. And how cute. He even let me go after he discovered that I'm a girl…"

"Wait a minute! How did he find out that you are a girl when he can't even see you?" A tall female standing behind a cast of shadow asked.

Ami giggled immediately distinguishing the answer from Michiru's dark red face. "I can answer it for you if you can't, Michiru-chan."

"Thank you, Ami-chan. But there's not a need to…" Michiru smiled before she gazed over to the quiet man who was reading on the sofa. "Kunizite-san, PX-T is not a dangerous drug, is it?"

"Oh? Are you worried about Seiya Kou? It's not like you to be showing concern to your enemy, Michiru-san." Kunizite muttered, his eyes not moving away from the page.

"Kunizite-san, please kindly answer my question. Is PX-T a dangerous drug?" Michiru ignoring Kunizite's comment asked again.

"Well, besides altering the person mind to a seven year old, it's nothing dangerous. According to Ami-san, the current Seiya Kou is able to control his telekinetic power pretty well due to the special training he had with the great Hayato Furinji. Therefore, there's no way we could force him to exploit his telekinetic power to his limit. But we may see something if we were to alter him back into his seven years old self… I heard he unconsciously killed a number of psychics because he couldn't control the overpowering telekinetic energy flowing within him then…" Kunizite explained closing his book. "The drug last for three days, and the day after tomorrow will be the Aces class battle. There will be relay cameras in the examination field, we might be able to see history repeating itself then…"

"Are we forgetting about the Aces' brain here?" The other man seated beside Kunizite stated. "Taiki-san is no ordinary genius. He may try to ruin our plot..."

"Actually, that's what I wanted him to do." Ami's reply surprised everyone. "It'll be a headache if he does nothing. The more he tries to interfere with us, the more information we can obtain about him…"

"Wow! You are really scheming, Ami-chan. No wonder you are Satan number one spy."

"I have nothing against the Aces, am just doing my job." Ami smiled.

"What about Usagi Tsukino? Even as a witch doctor, I don't think any of my psychokinesis drugs is capable to lure her into exploiting her power…" Kunizite concluded.

"Nope. We don't have to do anything yet…" Ami grinned as she shifted her focus back to the computer.

"Don't do anything? What do you mean?"

"From my analysis, she would exploit her power whenever someone tried to harm the Aces, especially when it comes to hurting Seiya Kou…" Ami explained casually. "Just wait… If my calculation don't fail me, during their first class battle, she will definitely turn back into a psychic weapon."

--

* * *

--

"What?! A seven year old?!" Yaten exclaimed in absolute shock while everyone jaws dropped by an inch. "You are telling us that Seiya's mentality now is similar to a child?!"

"Shhhh…" Taiki hissed closing the door behind him. "Usagi is inside trying to get him back to sleep. We had a hard time stopping his cries…"

"What? Seiya cried?!" All of them exclaimed at once as they tried to hide their laughter to themselves. Indeed, this did sound hilarious to the other Aces who were used to seeing their leader's arrogance and sternness. "That's hard to imagine…"

"What a headache." Taiki sighed. "By the way, I've informed the police and they will be here in the morning. Yaten, I need you to attend to them since I will be out to testify the sort of drug injected into Seiya's body."

"Ya, alright." Yaten reluctantly agreed, knowing that his idiotic stepbrother, Ayame will definitely be present. Yuki sighed along with Yaten, both not looking forward for the sun to rise.

While Taiki was outside directing matters to his various comrades, inside, Usagi was trying to get Seiya back to sleep. But he just peered at her with his big adorable dim-blue orbs not wanting to shut his lids on her. Usagi lying on her side while facing him giggled at his innocent stare. He had her temporary forgetting about the fury she previously felt towards the Satan spies.

To Usagi, the present Seiya looked irresistibly adorable imitating her actions. When she blinked, he blinked. When she sat up, he followed accordingly. When she dropped back down, he did the same. Usagi couldn't help but laughed crazily in her head. His child-like behavior reminded her of the many happy times they shared together when they were much younger. She flipped over to him finally deciding to stop her silly games of tempting him to imitate her though she enjoyed it very much, "Seiya, why don't you sleep? It's really late now…"

Seiya poked his head out of the blanket and stared at her for a moment, "I don't want to sleep. You will leave me if I did…"

"No, I won't!" Usagi exclaimed sitting back up and as expected, Seiya followed. "Don't be silly. Why would I leave you?"

"Because I am a monster…" He explained simply, drawing his long legs into his chest. "Mummy left me months ago. She said she'll be back, but she didn't… I heard the uncles said mummy doesn't want me anymore because I'm dangerous. They said I killed the other uncles… and I am a monster… that's why no one wants to be with me… that's why they left me alone…"

Usagi winced when she heard him sniffling softly. The pain he felt surging through her body almost as if their bodies were linked. She gazed sadly at him for a second longer before wrapping her arms around him, taking in that she was actually hugging a young man and not a child. She felt his firm muscles and a body that overpowered hers, but inside she sensed his weak, broken heart.

Seiya stiffened at her embrace but he didn't shove her away this time. Strangely, he felt warm all over, but why? He lifted his face up from his knees and turned towards her. His watery eyes were seen enlarging when he saw her bright smile. At that point of time, it was an expression that he had never seen before.

"You are not alone…" She whispered to him. "Though, I may not be your mother or any of your relatives that you want to be with, still… I want you… If possible, I want to be with you forever and see the sunrise with you everyday. That's my selfish desire…"

He looked back at her, the sadness in his eyes were replaced by confusion. He couldn't understand this _stranger _at all, but somehow he felt very comfortable just by looking at her smile.

"Why?" He asked in a small voice, cocking his head slightly. "Aren't you afraid of me? Everyone is… even mummy…"

Usagi just smiled back as she positioned him back down into his lying posture. "Let me tell you a little secret…"

She paused, tugging him under the blanket and laying back down to face him. "The truth is I never quite understand what happiness was, till I met you…"

Usagi smiled and immediately placed her index on his lips preventing him from asking 'why'.

"I thought I did, but I was mistaken, I didn't. My mum died when I was four, and I only remembered smiling whenever I was around her. Was that happiness? Maybe. That was why I smiled all the time because I believed by smiling, I was being happy. Even with Yuumei or Daifu(father), I couldn't distinguish when I was truly happy… because like me, Yuumei never quite understand that feeling. When we were young, Daifu praised us a lot in whatever we do. And yes, even killing. We never thought it was wrong and no matter whom or when we kill, we felt nothing inside. So, if you are a monster, I am worse… a lot worse…"

Usagi removed her finger and flipped over onto her back, facing the dim ceiling. "Because it was so convenient for me to kill, everything eventually turned numb. And besides being with Yuumei, I don't exactly know when I was smiling for a reason."

She paused for a few seconds before flipping over and placing her hand on his cheek. His eyes enlarged with a faint blush as she settled her forehead against his. "Till the day you saved me, Seiya… The first sight of you... seemed so mysterious and yet, I felt that we are the same somehow. I wanted to know why. I wanted to know more about you… I wanted to see your smile and hear your voice. Then, you became my first interest… and eventually my reason to smile and cry…"

She pulled away with a smile telling him, "So, don't worry. I'm not leaving you tonight."

Seiya let out a breath of relief, not understanding most of her words except for the last phrase. Soon, a yawn escaped his mouth and through his half-opened eyes, he continued peering at Usagi asking, "Onee-chan, can I hold your hand while I sleep?"

"Onee-chan jya nai, Usagi desu!(I'm not big sister, it's Usagi!)" Usagi pointed out strictly as she slowly slipped her hand into his, and his fingers instantly enclosed around her little ones.

For a moment, Usagi just stared surprisingly at their locked hands finally realizing how small her hand was compared to his. Strangely, he gave her a sense of security. Squeezing his hand lightly, she gazed back up, watching his eyes shut completely as he drifted off to sleep.

"Ohyasumi(Good night), Seiya." She smiled, peering at his angelic face a moment longer before shutting her eyes and joining him in sleep.

--

* * *

--

During the morning hours, not a single person wasn't caught busy with something in the Aces District. The police and a few medical doctors came by early, investigating and requesting to give Seiya a body check. While Yaten and Yuki were both busy trying to get away from the persistence Ayame, Usagi was strongly against the idea of allowing any physician besides Taiki to examine Seiya. Being an overprotective friend, she didn't want a stranger inspecting Seiya intimately, not trusting the adults and suspecting their motives. Likewise, Seiya was feeling uncomfortable being in a room filled with strangers wanting to question him and take his blood sample. In his current mentality, everyone except Usagi was classified under the term '_bad guy_' and he didn't like being in the same room with all these villains.

"Onee-chan, can we go now?" Seiya grasping onto Usagi's sleeve asked softly. "I don't like them…"

"Seiya, how many times must I tell you not to call me Onee-chan. I am Usagi! U-sa-gi!!" Usagi reminded him with a pout.

She couldn't understand why he never liked addressing her by her first name. Was he doing that on purpose? Nevertheless, 'Onee-chan' did sound better than 'Odango'. Growing tired of trying to correct him, Usagi held onto his hand and smiled soothingly up at him, "Don't worry, Seiya. I don't like them either. So, I will make them leave soon."

"Tsukino-san, I know you don't prefer us here but we can't leave without performing an examination on Kou-san." One of the physicians spoke.

"How can I trust that none of you doctors are working for Satan?" Usagi stated, eyeing suspiciously at the three physicians. "I am not allowing anyone except Taiki to examine Seiya. So, please leave."

"But, Tsukino-san... You should understand that the NPIF needs Kou-san's medical report. Please don't make matters hard for us…" the police officer tried convincing her.

"I don't care." Usagi argued back, her smile fainting. "If the NPIF needs Seiya's medical condition, you can just ask Taiki to send you a copy, but no one get near Seiya…"

"But, Tsukino-san…"

"Don't force me to drive all of you out." Usagi warned sternly, glaring at them.

They backed away from her, intimidated by her sudden change of attitude.

Usagi turned away from them and faced Seiya with a smile, "Seiya, I'm hungry. What's for breakfast?"

"Breakfast?" Seiya cocked his head slightly confused by her question.

Usagi blinked at him for a second, immediately remembering that the current Seiya can't possibly cook. She sighed, "I forgot you are only seven… Eh?! Does that mean we will have to starve till you return back to normal?!"

All eyes watched as she grabbed Seiya lightly by his shirt and cried. "NOOOO!! I missed your cooking already! Pork chop, miso soup, beef ramen… WAhhhhhh!! Turn back to the older Seiya!! I want food!"

Perplexed, Seiya just gazed down at the blonde clinching onto him. He couldn't understand her unhappiness or what she was grumbling about, but one thing for certain he didn't like the fact that she wasn't smiling. Wrapping his arms around her, he gently stroked her back praying she would smile for him again. Usagi looked up and allowed a bright smile to adorn her features, granting his wish. But dropped her face back down again as soon as her stomach growled, begging her for food. "I'm hungry…"

Then, the wonderful scent of miso soup caught her attention. Instantly, Usagi spun around and tears of joy rolled down her face animatedly. Standing by the door was none other than Taiki holding a bag of groceries up, smiling sweetly at her.

"Taiki! Taiki! You are back! WAHHHHH!! Food!! Food!! Food!!" Usagi cheered and spread her arms wide, running towards Taiki as if to hug him, but instead her arms enfolded around his bag of groceries, treating them like gold.

"Usagi, you are really honest aren't you?" Taiki giggled lightly.

"Thank you, Taiki! You are my savior!" Usagi beamed at him showing her gratitude.

"Yes, yes…" Taiki nodded, gladly patting her on the head. "Go down and have your breakfast with Seiya. I will take over from here."

"Hai!" Usagi nodded happily as she reached back for Seiya's hand, pulling him out of the room.

Seiya willingly trailed behind without a clue to where Usagi was taking him. But, as long as she was with him, the location was less of a concern. Even if she didn't ask him along, his body would unconsciously act on its own and follow her wherever she went. To him, she was like as cute, cuddly doll that he desired to hug so much. He couldn't let her go, and he wished she wouldn't abandon him either.

By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs, they heard a loud clash coming from the front door. Feeling the all too familiar presence, Usagi hurried across the living room, turned the corner and stopped a few feet away from the entrance. Seiya followed quietly, ending his step right behind Usagi. He turned towards the direction where Usagi had her veyes set on and was surprised to find a gigantic elderly by the entrance. Instead of backing away from fear, Seiya peered admiringly at the powerful figure holding onto a piece of door in his right hand. His eyes sparkled with interest. Who was this strong-looking elder? His present memories held no recollection of meeting anyone looking so monstrously dominating.

"Sofu!! Stop destroying the house!!" Usagi shrieked agitatedly at her grandfather.

"Hohoho! Get a stronger lock, Akatsuki. This one is definitely too weak. It's no wonder the Satan spies are able to break in…" Hayato laughed, discarding the door to the floor.

"They didn't break in by the door! What's more, this is already the strongest lock in the state! And you just destroyed it!" Usagi folded her arm with a frown.

Each time her grandfather come visiting, there would always be a need to change the main door and no matter how strong the locks were he still managed to break them, effortlessly. She couldn't understand why her grandfather was never considerate enough to press the door bell and wait patiently outside for them to let him in. He just have to destroy the entrance as if he hated the access so much, causing trouble for everyone especially Taiki.

Seiya took a step forward, facing the elder who was now smiling warmly down at him.

"Do you know who I am, Seiya-chan?" Hayato asked in a gentle tone.

Seiya shook his head lightly and asked, "Ojiisan, are you the master of all psychic?"

--

'_Ojiisan is a former addressing to an elderly stranger.' – Japanese naming system_

_--_

"Master? No, I am not that good. I just never lose before… HOHOHO!!" Hayato laughed.

Seiya eyes widened another time with respect while Usagi sighed at the familiar scenario. She remembered Seiya asking the exact question and her grandfather giving the same reply during their first encounter five years back. It almost seemed like she was watching a recap of their past being played _Live_ from afar. Nothing changes, except that Seiya appeared much taller now.

Her stomach growled, reminding her of how hungry she actually was. "Sofu, we are about to have our breakfast. Do you want to join us?"

Usagi hastily grabbed Seiya by his hand, directing him to her side before her grandfather start kidnapping him out for an adventure (without her consent) just like five years ago.

"No, I prefer to take Seiya-chan for a flight." Hayato answered half-jokingly.

"Sofu! You are not taking Seiya on a dangerous journey!" Usagi shrieked loudly despite her hunger.

"HOHOHO!!" Hayato laughed, switching his view from Seiya and back to his granddaughter, he smiled, "I'm glad he's alright… So, you won't feel lonely…"

Usagi eyed widened with surprise at Hayato's comment. Her grandfather sure knew her well enough to see through her darker side or it's simply because he just held the capability to distinguish everyone's secret and hidden characteristic. Either way, he wasn't wrong about the fact that she'll feel lonely without Seiya.

Seiya was the first stranger she trusted, her first friend and the first person who ultimately made her cry for him. He was important to her, so significant till she was willing to risk her life to keep him by her side. It was a secret which only Yuumei and her grandfather knew about. No one should know, not even Seiya himself, but her outrageous action betrayed her. She had let it all out five years ago when she went against the entire state just to save him from being executed. Now, everyone even Satan knew how essential he was to her which is partially the reason why he was targeted last night.

This worried her deeply, though she hid it well with a smile. A frown wasn't going to make the situation any better. Satan would still be after them, the spies would still watched over them and she couldn't change her destiny with a silly frown. Nevertheless, she'd be keeping her awareness up, eyeing on Seiya at all times while she asked Yuumei to watch over her other friends.

Throughout the remaining morning and afternoon, Usagi seemed cheerful, happy, like the existence and doings of the Satan spies had no effect on her at all, but that was completely opposite of what she really felt. Inside, she was being smothered in a chaotic mess of various emotions. She wasn't sure which overpowered the rest, her anger at Satan for hurting Seiya, her regret for not being careful after her grandfather had alerted her about the spies, or her disbelief that Satan was literally targeting her friends as well.

During dinner, Taiki brought up the discussion on whether to remove Seiya from the team for tomorrow class battle, identifying Satan's intention and taking in that he wasn't suitable for the examination due to his current mentality.

"No! I disagree!" Usag shot up from her seat and objected. "Seiya shouldn't be left out of the team just because of his present condition. That's so unfair!"

"Usagi, if it's possible, we won't want to remove Seiya either. But, the present him is only a seven year old child who is incapable of controlling his power." Taiki explained calmly. "Placing him in the team for tomorrow class battle will only benefit the Satan spies. You understand this too, don't you?"

For a moment, Usagi was unexpectedly quiet. Everyone just stared at her, preparing to hear her yelling and pouring out childish demands but to their surprise nothing remotely close seems to be coming out of Usagi's mouth. All eyes watched as she glimpsed at Seiya for a quick second and shut her eyes. She let out a deep breath before reopening them. Her expression was much calmer now, more composed but expressionlessly stern. This shocked everyone, since none of them except Taiki had seen the darker side of her.

Usagi sat back down and folded her arms. "Whether or not Seiya gets to be in the team, it will still benefit the Satan spies. The class battle last for three hours, within this period of time, who is going to look after Seiya? Even if you are able to find someone whom I can trust to watch over him, can you guarantee that Satan will not try to harm him while we aren't looking? I'm sure you knew this better than I do, Taiki. The moment this drug was injected into Seiya's body, it was their game. Either way, they will still be able to gain the advantage. If that's the case, I want to be the one to protect Seiya."

"Wow! Usagi, you seem so cool tonight!"

Everyone except Taiki and Seiya applauded. That wasn't what they had expected to hear. Not even close. Moreover, she sounded pretty manly.

"Thank you, Minna (Everyone)!" Usagi stuck her tongue out with a little blush, losing her sternness to praise.

Taiki couldn't help but chuckled lightly at her sudden change of attitude. It was not like her to take any conversation seriously, but he wasn't surprise by her previous seriousness since it involved Seiya, which only prove how important he was to her. It was pretty amazing how calculative and sharp she could become once Seiya was place into concern.

Taiki exhaled a deep breath. Genuinely, he didn't support the idea to have Seiya remove either. Like Usagi, he couldn't trust anyone to watch over Seiya while they were away. On top of that, he too wanted to protect his friend. And, Usagi who saw through his hidden desire partially disagreed on his behalf.

Similarly, none of the other Aces wanted Seiya to be taken out of the team even after Taiki had briefly told them about Satan's motive. Though they knew there was more to it, they didn't question further. They were lying to say they didn't want to know, but they respected and understood that there must be a crucial reason behind Usagi and Taiki secrecy.

"It's settled! For tomorrow class battle, Seiya will be in and I'll be the one who will protect him!" Usagi declared optimistically, throwing her arms around Seiya.

"Are you forgetting that you are playing the King's role, Usagi?" Yaten chuckled. "Shouldn't Seiya be defending you instead?"

"In my concept, it's the King's responsibility to protect his mates. Neh Taiki?" Usagi smiled brightly across to Taiki.

"I agree that it's my responsibility to protect you." Taiki grinned. "So, don't overexert yourself tomorrow. I'll be there by your side, no matter what happens."

"Hai! Thank you, Taiki." Usagi smiled warmly at him and he did the same.

"I will protect Onee-chan too." Seiya declared eagerly wanting Usagi to smile for him as well.

"_Ahhh! He's so cute!" _Usagi nodded happily and beamed at him.

"Since everything is settled. I'm going back up for a shower... Gosh, it's really humid today…" Haruka stood up lazily, thinking it was best to leave Seiya and Usagi alone.

"I think I will too…" Yuki corresponded.

"Do you want to take a shower, Seiya?" Usagi asked thoughtfully.

Seiya thought over it for a quick second before pulling Usagi by her sleeve saying, "Onee-chan, shower with me…"

"What?!"

Minako and Tohru dropped their jaws, Yuki blinked his eyes in disbelief, Haruka almost tripped over a chair, Yaten shot up from his seat in astonishment while Taiki choked on his coffee, coughing badly as he tried to shout out an objection.

Usagi blushed deeply and couldn't respond. She didn't know how to explain to him that they weren't supposed to be bathing together and reject his request without hurting his feeling. "Eh… Seiya…"

Her voice was instantly cut off by Taiki, "You pervert!! Do you know what you are saying?!"

"Taiki! Calm down!!" Yuki and Yaten rushed over to the fury man, holding him back before he beat the poor Seiya up.

"Let me go! I'm going to knock some sense into his head and turn him back to normal!" Taiki completely lost his composure struggled to break loose from his friends' hold.

"Onee-chan, I'm so scared!! That Onii-san is so scary!!" Seiya cried as he tried to bury himself into Usagi's chest, rubbing his face against her soft breasts making Taiki boiled with envious and rage.

"_Wow! Now, I wished I could become a child."_ Haruka, Yaten and Yuki shared the same thought.

"You little pervert!! You are doing this on purpose, aren't you?!" Taiki half-yelled, gnashing his teeth. "Forget about finding an antidote or waiting for the drug to wear off! Let me go, Yaten, Yuki!! I'm going to turn that pervert back to normal tonight! And everything will be solve!!"

"Save me, Onee-chan! Onii-san is getting scarier!!" Seiya pleaded, drawing himself even closer into Usagi's chest as she stroked his head gently, muttering appeasing words into his ear in attempt to aid his fear.

"Taiki! Don't shout at Seiya! He's just a child!" Usagi exclaimed, hugging Seiya protectively.

"He's a full grown man!!" Taiki argued back agitatedly.

"But he's currently just a little boy in the inside…" Usagi insisted before turning her focus back to comfort Seiya.

"Shh… There's nothing to be frightened about. Taiki isn't a bad guy. He didn't mean to shout at you…"

Seiya nodded obediently, rubbing his right eye as Usagi released him from her embrace. "Since Onee-chan said so, then I will be a good boy and forgive him."

"Why you…" Taiki growled and lifted his right fist up in irritation.

But instead of charging forward, he took a deep breath, calming himself down before he start knocking Seiya on his head. It wasno good. Nowadays, he tended to lose his cool quite often. But how was he supposed to hold back his irritation especially since the present Seiya was as arrogant, and if not, even more pretentious than he normally was. It had Taiki wondering whether it was really the drug's play or simply his. For all he knew, the psychokinesis drug might had no effect on him at all, and he was only acting that it did. But, it did sound rather illogical and shouldn't Seiya be given an Oscar for being such a fine actor if that was the case? No! Instead of an award, he should be jailed for his previous intimating action towards Usagi.

Lost in his own thoughts, Taiki was taken in by surprise when he felt someone patting him on the shoulder. His face shot up to Seiya's, completely caught off guard.

"Onii-san…" Seiya smiled innocently. "I'm not losing Onee-chan to you."

With that, Seiya casually followed Usagi up the stairs leaving his group of friends exchanging speechless gaze among themselves.

--

* * *

--

"Seiya, are you okay in there?" Usagi knocked on the door worriedly.

Seiya had been in the bathroom for over an hour and crazy thoughts began pouring into Usagi's head, thinking he had somehow injured himself while bathing. After all, anything could happen since his present mentality was just seven years of age.

"Sei…" Her voice stopped at the mid sentence as the door swiftly pulled open and Seiya stepped out of the bathroom with sopping dark long hair and bare chest.

Usagi flushed a bright pink at the half-naked young man standing before her. She continued staring at him as her eyes watched droplets of water slid down his handsome face. He was just so gorgeous when water was splattered across his black hair and manly body. She hadn't even seen such perfection in any fashion magazine photographs before. It gave her the sudden urge to commend him to become a model, forgetting that she had previously forced him into the music industry since she claimed that he had a beautiful voice.

"Onee-chan, I can't button this…" Seiya innocently directed his pajamas top to Usagi disturbing her train of thoughts.

Usagi looked at the shirt in his hand and back at Seiya finally realizing how terribly wet he was. Obviously, he didn't make any effort to dry himself properly. To make matters worse, he was wearing nothing on top.

"Seiya! You are all wet! You will catch a cold if you stay like this… Come!"

Usagi anxiously pulled him over and ordered him to sit down by the edge of his bed. Taking the white towel hanging around his neck, she started rubbing it over his head, drying his hair for him.

"If you leave your hair wet, you'll catch a cold for sure." She murmured with a light frown. "Please dry yourself properly next time. You'll make me worry for you if you fall ill."

Seiya looked up and smiled at her caring manner making Usagi blushed lightly at his grin, forgiving him for his carelessness. It was impossible to stay mad at him, not that she was ever angry in the first place. She still couldn't figure out why she was always worrying about him or why he was her reason to smile and cry. But, she knew really well that he was very important to her and she couldn't afford to let him get sick.

"Aweeeee… Seiya… You got to learn to button your shirt properly the next time…" Usagi told him as she kneeled before him and began buttoning his pajamas in a fast pace, trying to control herself from peeping at his perfectly-built bare torso. "I am not your mother... I can't always be buttoning shirt for you…"

"But, my mother never taught or buttoned my shirt for me…" Seiya muttered softly, looking away from Usagi. "My mother never needed me and I don't need her either. So, I never think of Onee-chan as my mother. To me, Onee-chan is special…"

"Special?" Usagi blinked and a smile etched across her face.

She giggled happily making Seiya turned his vision back to her. He looked at her oddly, wondering what she was laughing about. Did she find his words hilarious? But he was only stating the truth.

"Special neh?" She beamed at him and wrapped her hands around his, bringing them closer to her lips and kissing the side of his fingers.

"Seiya is special too…" She peered up at him, retaining her warm smile. "To me, you are special too…"

"_Very special. So, I want to protect you, I want to see the sunrise with you everyday till that day comes when by I've to leave you and return back to Satan. Even so, I pray you will never forget me and remember me always. That's my selfish desire… my wishful thinking… Please forgive me… Seiya… I'm sorry…"_

--

* * *

--

"The first class battle examination is about to begin. Audience, please take your seats…" The negotiator announced as students, parents, and teachers proceeded to their seats to face a large projection screen in the academy auditorium.

Outside the academy forest, two groups of candidates, Team A and Team B, were being positioned in different location spots as their start-off points. All defenders were to stick by the King, while attackers and spies can choose between going solo and pair. Haruka who beforehand vision a hazy site of the enemy King set off with Yuki to identify the visualized location in hope to eliminate Team B's King before their spies locate Usagi. Yaten worried about Minako's abilities as an attacker paired with her, attempting to aid her if she gets assault by an attacker while they were locating the enemy positioning, leaving Seiya and Taiki guarding Usagi in the back field.

"Hump! It's so boring playing as the King character! Practically, there's nothing for me to do besides sitting around or escaping from an attacker! And this big hat is such a hinder!!" Usagi grumbled, adjusting her crown as it kept falling over, covering her eyes.

"Onee-chan, the hat is too big for you." Seiya grinned helping Usagi positioned her crown back upright.

"Thank you, Seiya." Usagi showed her gratitude with a warm smile.

Shortly, a big pink ball floating slowly across the blue sky caught Usagi's attention. "Taiki, is that the referee ball? Are we being watched?"

Taiki nodded, "Yes. The referee ball set as a rely camera. There's a whole theater of audience watching us now, including the Satan Spies. Though they could only see and not hear us, it's still better to keep our composure and not carry out any intimate behavior."

"Intimate behavior? Onii-san, you mean like this?" Seiya playfully hugged Usagi and kissed her lightly on the forehead making Usagi stiffened in surprise by his sudden intimacy and Taiki boiling with rage, not understanding why the present Seiya enjoyed irritating him that much.

"Why you…!" Taiki clutched his fists at Seiya who mischievously stuck his tongue out, showing his playfulness.

"Wait! Wait! Taiki!" Usagi scurried over to Taiki, holding him back before he start beating Seiya up. "There's a whole theater of audience watching us now! Including the Satan Spies! So, it's better for us to keep our composure!"

She thoughtfully repeated the statement that Taiki had just told her, instantly stopping his attack on Seiya. But, those words were not enough to ease his current irritation. He needed a payback, and he wasn't contented by merely evening the score.

Taiki's face shot up at Seiya's with a sly grin as he pulled Usagi into his arms, hugging her tightly and crushing his lips lovingly on hers. This made Usagi's eyes shot up in absolute surprise and she was blushing crazily, stunned silent by his unexpected intimacy. It was her first time getting a kiss from Taiki -- what's more on the lips -- and she was feeling overly-shy by his public display of affection. A kiss was definitely the last thing she thought Taiki would ever want from her, totally oblivious by his hidden desire.

"Perverted Onii-san! Give Onee-chan back! You are not to touch her! Onee-chan is MINE!!" Seiya claimed, hastily grabbing Usagi by her right arm to break the kiss.

"No, she isn't!! Usagi belongs to ME!!" Taiki retorted, holding Usagi by her left arm to haul her back to him.

Poor Usagi was literally trapped in between the two boys who were pulling her back and forth, left and right, as if she was a toy doll and they were fighting over the possession of her. It was a very childish internal conflict. Usagi sighed heavily. There was no point in stopping them now since they had completely ruined their composure with all these intimate behavior.

--

"It seemed like Team A is having an internal conflict…" The negotiator announced as the audiences watched with 'sweat-drops' floating behind their heads at the Aces' love rivaling.

Inside the headmaster office, the vice-principal, Yuzuru Suou was seen sighing as he observed the class battle through a wide-screen plasma television. "They are not taking the examination seriously, are they?"

"HOHOHOHO!! It's so good to be young." Hayato stroking his long, blonde beard laughed.

"Instead of fooling around, shouldn't they be staying on-guard especially since the Satan spies are watching this too? Exposing themselves like that, I really don't understand what these kids are thinking."

"HOHOHO!! Isn't this good, Yuzuru-chan? Even a sharp-witted man like you couldn't understand their acts, I'm afraid the Satan spies might have a tough time figuring them out then."

"You mean the Aces are doing all these on purpose?"

"No, on purpose will be too much of an act. They are just being themselves... HOHOHO!!"

"So, they are planning to do nothing for this examination round? But is staying defensive really the best move against the Satan Spies scheme?"

"HOHOHO!! The best defense is always the finest offense." Hayato asserted with a smile. "Do you understand why the Satan spies chose to drug Seiya-chan? HOHOHO!! They are planning to observe a repeat of history. By drugging Seiya-chan alone, not only can they lead him to exploit his power to the maximum, but provoke Akatsuki, luring her to turn back into a psychic weapon when someone try stopping Seiya-chan's destructiveness by harming him. Also, they can obtain more information about Taiki if he tried interfering with their plot. Yes, Satan sure sent down some cunning spies, but compared to my disciple, they are still not bright enough. Taiki saw through their scheme. So for this examination round, to do nothing on his part is the best tactic."

"So, Taiki Kou is just going to stand there and watch his friends fall under Satan's preys? And, shouldn't we be stopping this battle examination? It's getting too dangerous." Yuzuru frowned.

"Since both Akatsuki and Taiki welcomed Satan's challenge, I don't see a reason for me to stop their battle." Hayato smiled relaxingly. "Yes, Taiki is not intending to interfere with their plot, but that doesn't mean he didn't request someone to do it in his place…"

"You mean… ?"

"HOHOHO!! At least he phoned me last night informing me about everything…" Hayoto laughed and leaned back against his seat. "HOHOHO!! This class battle will definitely draw the attention from the authority of Satan! Things are about to get interesting…"

--

Back in the battlefield, Yaten held onto Minako's hand securely, leading her down a narrow dirt path. Together, hidden amongst the trees of the forest, they were trying to locate the site in which Taiki had calculated the enemy King to be positioned at.

Then, Yaten's pendant began to radiate, informing him that an enemy was within a radius of 20m. He glanced around the forest carefully, and his ears perked up at the sound of quiet footsteps gradually growing louder. Have their enemies spotted them? Are they planning an ambush?

Wanting to clarify the situation before taking a further action, he abruptly turned to face Minako, placing the tip of his finger to his lips and pulling her behind a row of thick trees. Minako obediently followed, understanding her master meaning to remain silent.

She stood close to Yaten uneasily. They were standing extremely close to the edge of the cliff, less than a footstep away. The bottom seemed quite a distance away. In reality, the slope wasn't that steep, and the bottom wasn't that far down, but the top was a vertical drop for several feet and through the eyes of an acrophobic, it was pretty terrifying. Minako edged closer to Yaten's back and shut her eyes, repeatingly telling herself not to look down. A sudden explosive sound forced Minako to open her lids and she found herself peering downwards and swaying towards the edge.

Suddenly, Minako felt her feet lost contact with the ground. Her eyes widened helplessly, and her mouth opened to call out Yaten's name, but she didn't wish to alert the enemies nearby. Therefore, she closed back her jaw, with no intention to call for his rescue. Yaten spun around in time to see her flailing her arms as she began to drop. He reached out to grab her, but it was too late. His fingers wrapped around the air and nothing else. Instinctively, he jumped down after her, pulling her into his arms without thinking through his actions. His mind was focused only on keeping her out of harm's way.

He flipped over so that she was rested on top, using his body as a shield to protect her. Minako pressed her face against his chest, squeezing her eyes close out of fear. They landed with a crash and began rolling down the side of the hill. Yaten tightened his grip to her, crushing her to him as he felt small rocks scratch against his skin. He'd rather those sharp rocks cut him a million times than to have a single scratch on Minako's skin. Their speed decreased rapidly, stopping at the grassy bottom.

Minako dizzily opened her eyes meeting a pair of light green orbs staring concernedly down at her. Yaten was practically lying on top of her with his arms outstretched as he quickly scanned through her for injuries. "Minako, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?"

She looked up at him with bewildered eyes before nodding slowly. Minako continued lying there perfectly still, unable to believe what had just happened as her eyes scanned Yaten's body, noticing the small cuts on his arms and the few little rips in his uniform. Her mouth hung opened and eyes enlarged with worries, but Yaten ignored that look. She lifted her hand to touch his arm, but dropped it before her finger grazed a cut. Her breathing sped up with guilt. She had made her master get hurt, and she was ashamed and angry at herself for doing that to him.

On the other hand, Yaten was too focused on checking her for injuries to notice his own sprained left ankle. Not until he was relieved to find nothing serious on her was he able to feel the sharp pain on the joint between his foot and leg. Carefully lifting himself away from Minako, he sat down with a frown, placing his hand over his aching ankle.

"Yaten-sama! Are you alright?" Minako asked worriedly, cautiously touching his ankle softly, feeling to see if he had broken a bone. She couldn't feel a break, but she could guess that he had sprained it from protecting her minutes ago. She bit her lower lips, trying her best to restrain her tears of guilt. There was no time for self-blaming. What mattered was to get him to see Taiki before he worsens his injuries further.

To Yaten's surprise, Minako simply pulled him onto her lap and picked him up in a bridal style. "What are you doing, Minako?! Put me down!" Yaten squealed out of embarrassment to be carried by a girl.

"Pardon me, Yaten-sama. You can't walk now, so I am carrying you to Taiki-san." Minako stood up with her master cradled in her arms as she startled to walk down the forest path, ignoring his protest.

"I'm fine! Put me down! I can walk myself!" Yaten protested firmly. He wasn't a child anymore, and to be carried by the girl he loved was down-right humiliating for the egoistic shaman, furthermore with the whole school watching him through the referee ball.

"No, you can't! Yaten-sama, you sprained your ankle because of me. This is the least I can do…" Her sentence was cut off when Yaten's pendant began to radiate. Hearing the raising footsteps coming their way, Minako quickly turned and hid herself behind a thick tree. She set Yaten back down on the ground and peeped at the three approaching figures. Her eyes widened in panic as she stared at the tall brunette and her two defenders stopping a distance away.

"Let's see who we have here? Oh? My future husband together with the sluttish Succubus…" The brunette glared angrily at them.

"Rei Hino!" Yaten growled under his breath as he tried standing back up using the tree as a support.

Rei confidently took a step forward as she began chanting strange words in a murmur. Immediately after, a big magic circle appeared on the grassy ground within her radius. It glowed an orange red as Rei stretched her right arm out at them and smirked, "You lose."

--

* * *

--

_Credit: Yuzuru Suou from Ouran High Host Club_

Woot! This chapter is up sooner than I have expected. I thought my next update will be a month later because of the increase loads of works. There's one thing I can't understand. Why does most of you find some chapters shorter than the others when I practically wrote a longer chap for each update? Lol. Anyway, I hope you readers hadn't get bored of this story. And sadly, the next update won't be anytime soon.

Kindly leave a Review, need it :)!


	15. Goodbye Aces: A Return to Satan?

**--**

**Goodbye Aces: A Return to Satan?**

--

Carrying Yaten in her arms, Minako sped up in an attempt to escape from the two pursuing fox spirits. Being a pure-blooded Succubus, Minako possessed physical strength and agility much higher than a regular human, however the foxes summoned by Rei weren't spiritual creatures that lack the speed to chase. It wasn't an easy task fleeing from them especially with her master struggling in her arms, obstructing her movement.

"Minako!! Put me down!! They are just two fox spirits, I can handle them easily!!" Yaten exclaimed in embarrassment.

"But Yaten-sama, you can't possibly evade their attacks with an injured leg…"

"Yes, I can!" Yaten stubbornly insisted. "There's no way I'm losing to some pre-advanced psychics! So, put me down!!"

To his surprise, Minako obediently stopped her steps. She realized that she had ran straight into a dead end, a six-meter ascending rock formation. Though the mount wasn't really that high, it was still impossible to climb it while carrying her master.

"Trust me. A sprain isn't enough to hinder my ability to protect you. So, be a good girl and put me down." Yaten whispered with a gentle grin, making Minako nodded obediently with a thick blush.

As soon as she set him down on the ground, Yaten leaned back against the rocky wall for supports as he began murmuring magical words under his breath. Immediately after, a silvery, circular sigil which made up of a complex combination of several symbols appeared around his radian. "Hear me… Protector of the Woods…"

By the time Rei and her defenders caught up, they were stunned silent by the startling sight of an enormous tree-like monster pounding the fox spirits with its massive gnarled limbs.

"_That's… that's the Elite Guardian of the Evergreen, Trellent. He managed to summon it?" _Rei took a step back, amazed by Yaten's ability as a shaman. It was no wonder they called him talented. Even top ranked shamans and professional necromancers face difficulties summoning the thousand years old demonic defender of the green, and yet, he managed to summon it within minutes? This made Rei shivered with the burning desire to have this remarkable man as her future spouse. Certainly, she wanted him even more now after noting his incredible capabilities.

Likewise, in the auditorium, the hall of audience was awed by Yaten staggering ability. Rarely anyone in the theatre had seen the Elite guardian, Trellent before making most of the spectators cheered with excitement and the Satan Spies grinning at their new discovery of a noteworthy.

"_Yaten Kou… How interesting… The Four Aces are really as remarkable as what the rumours claimed…"_

All eyes watched as Rei called upon four spiritual wolves, ordering them to distract the Trellent while her defenders went head on for Yaten and Minako. Using their alchemists' abilities, they lengthened their metal poles at the couple as Minako tried to kick them off, protecting her master from getting hit by the solid rods.

She grabbed one of the metal poles right before it made contact to Yaten's paintball which nearly got him eliminated from the class battle. Minako hastily took another step forward, keeping herself between the alchemists and Yaten, blocking all attacks that were targeted to her master who was unable to evade due to his leg's injury.

Yaten frowned, not liking the idea to have Minako protecting him, completely overlooking her status as his minion. As soon as the Trellent had entangled the spiritual wolves on the earthy ground, stopping their movement, it went along with its master's command shielding Minako's from the attacking alchemists.

The Trellent extended its vines, an assault towards their paintballs causing the defenders to fall back to their King. Yaten stopped the Trellent attacks on Rei upon remembering that attackers were the only ones who can destroy the King's Paintball.

"My dear Yaten, why don't you call your Succubus to come against me? She's an attacker, isn't she?" Rei asked, followed by a sarcastic apology. "Sorry. I forgot that she's a useless Succubus. There's no way she can defeat me. How pitiful..."

"No one insults Minako." Yaten declared in a stern voice. "Unlike you, she's incredible and I love her for who she is! You can try saying more, and I'll not hesitate to make you pay for your nonsense insults!"

His words made Minako's cheek darkened. She felt the blood rush to her face at her master's public confession. Wait! Had she heard him right? He loved her? How was it even possible for such a talented shaman to love a lowly Succubus like her?

Rei's angry burst out interrupted Minako's thought, drawing her attention back to the enemy King. "Love her?! How dare you say such things?! You are my fiancé!"

"I am not your fiancé." Yaten stated in a very clear tone. "I'm no longer the heir and the Kou's legacy has nothing to do with me."

"How naive… Do you seriously believe that the Kou family and us, the Hino's, are really going to cancel this marriage arrangement just because you are now part of the Aces?" Rei grinned, wickedness gleaming in her eyes. "You really don't know anything, don't you? About the undisclosed fact that the Succubus doesn't originally belongs to you. But, don't worry, we have contacted your true Master, Minako Aino, he will be back real soon to pick you up."

"What nonsense are you bragging about?!" Yaten shouted furiously. What was she saying? He's not Minako's rightful master? She's going to be taken away from him? This was ridiculous. As if he's going to allow Minako to be with another shaman besides him.

"Didn't your parents tell you that she's just a loan? Minako Aino initially belongs to my uncle, Kazuka Hino." Rei declared with a smirk. "It's no use. When my uncle returns, the Succubus will instinctively follow his command. Regardless of how talented you are as a shaman, you can't defeat Uncle Kazuka. He's an elite-levelled necromancer, just like your father. But, Uncle Kazuka had promised me that he will let you keep this useless Succubus if you agree on our marriage arrangement. So, what do you say, my dear Yaten?"

"You are underestimating me, aren't you?" Yaten asked, glaring at Rei sternly. "Loan? True master? Whatever… Let me repeat myself. Minako is to stay with me. And I'll never accept the marriage arrangement no matter what evil scheme you and the Kou's are planning…"

"Nicely said, Yaten!" All ears perked up at the interruption. Facing the direction where the familiar voice came from, Yaten and Minako grinned at the arrival of Haruka and Yuki who were standing at the edge of the mount, looking down at them.

"My dream was right. The enemy King is really here." Haruka smirked, folding his arm.

"Announce to everyone, Haruka-san. What else did you dreamt of?" Yuki asked intentionally.

"Nothing surprising, just the Aces taking the first class battle victory ten minutes from now…" Haruka shrugged relaxingly.

"Oh?" Yuki grinned confidently, his right hand drawing air moisture and gradually manipulating them to a sharp, long ice shard. "Let's make your dream come true then."

--

* * *

--

"Defender Taiki Kou of Team A has defeated Spy Shinmada Kamiya of Team B. Therefore Team A gets an additional two points. Player Shinmada Kamiya has retired…" The negotiator announced.

Taiki sighed, glimpsing at the eliminated spy hanging upside down by his left foot trapped within the tight rope attached to a tree. "Why does everyone falls for my trap this easily?"

"Taiki, you are not going to let him down?" Usagi asked eyeing at the poor man trapped upside down still in dazed; an after-effect for falling victim to Taiki's intelligence traps before getting his paintball destroyed.

"No. I am in no mood for generosity." Taiki answered, glaring at Seiya who was still hugging Usagi possessively as if he was afraid that Taiki would steal her from him.

"You little pervert, how long are you planning to keep hugging Usagi? Let her go already…" Taiki agitatedly reached out with an attempt to grab Usagi, but Seiya yanked her away, moving her to his other side and keeping himself between her and Taiki.

"No! No! You are not to touch Onee-chan!!" Seiya snapped, once again holding Usagi against his chest protectively.

Usagi flushed a little, clutching Seiya tightly for support as her feet dangled in the air.

"Do you understand that we are undergoing a practical examination here?" Taiki inquired, trying his best to keep himself from flaring at Seiya again. He did not wish to ruin his composure further by having another childish internal conflict.

Usagi, on the other hand, sensing Taiki's unhappiness sighed quietly before she smiled up at Seiya, "Neh Seiya, don't make matters hard on Taiki. Will you be good and put me down?"

Taiki's eyes widened at Usagi, surprised to hear her siding him. Alternatively, Seiya shook his head stubbornly with a pout, hugging her even tighter, "No! No! If I let you go, Onii-san will kiss you again. I don't want Onii-san to kiss Onee-chan!"

"Eh?!" Usagi jaw dropped by an inch, her cheeks darkened with redness upon remembering Taiki crushing his lips on hers moments ago. Now that Seiya had mentioned it, Usagi couldn't bring herself to even look at Taiki out of complete embarrassment. Similarly, Taiki looked away, trying to hide his blush. Though he did not regret on his reckless action, it was still downright embarrassing for the topic to be brought up openly.

Secretly, at times, Taiki was frustrated at himself for being a coward, not daring to approach Usagi intimately and envying Seiya for his confidence to portray his affection to her. However, thanks to Seiya, he somehow managed to break through his shyness due to his triggered emotions taking over his senses. And now that he had finally calmed himself down, he wasn't sure if he could handle meeting Usagi in the eyes. For all he knew, she might think of him as a harasser now or hates him for the rest of their lives, and that possibility of hatred was what scared him. But what was he to do now? It wasn't right to apologize but he couldn't think of any appropriate explanation to seek for her forgiveness.

Now, the genius was really feeling troubled and he didn't understand why his intelligence ability would always fail to be of a use whenever Usagi was placed into concern. Maybe it was Love to be blamed, the powerful existence that was born from the heart and not the brain. Nonetheless, he was still unable to break the awkwardness that still lingered in the air.

Lost in his own thoughts, Taiki's concentration was no where near the battle field and not until his pendant started to radiate had he noticed a rock-like object appearing from behind a nearby bush. It flew passed him, directing toward Usagi's crown but Seiya yanked Usagi away in time, saving her from the dangerous object as it hit the ground with a small explosion.

"Onee-chan, are you alright?" Seiya eyeing down at Usagi asked anxiously.

"I-I'm fine. Thank you, Seiya." Usagi smiled and let out a sigh of relief, realizing how close they were to losing the game if it was not for Seiya's quick move.

"Seiya! Behind you!" Taiki alerted. But, it was too late. Seiya was caught off guard when the second enemy attacker seized his right ankle with a magical hook rope. He shoved Usagi lightly away, saving her from getting hit by another mini-bomb before losing his balance due to the rope strong pull.

"SEIYA!" Usagi spun around in time to see Seiya falling backwards, hitting his head on a chunk of jagged rock.

His eyes shot open but his vision perceived nothing besides blankness. He tried shutting his eyes, but couldn't. Why? Why couldn't his lids close on him? Was it due to the fact that he had lost control of his conscious? And his mind was concentrated on nothing else besides the aspiration to draw more telekinesis energy out of him.

It hurts. His head was screaming in pain. He remembered this familiar pain throbbing feeling. He was unleashing his power unlimitedly, wasn't he? And someone was going to be killed by him again, wasn't it? He couldn't calm himself down especially when the first person that came into his mind was Usagi. Stop! Don't kill her! Please don't kill her!

He would rather die than to wake up knowing he had murdered her.

"_Kill me… Someone… please kill me!"_ Seiya yelled his head.

All of the sudden, he couldn't feel his head aching anymore. His cold and empty surrounding was replaced by strange but comforting warmth.

"_Baka… Akatsuki will be really upset if you died."_ He heard a female voice.

Who was it? Who was talking to him?

His vision of whiteness slowly diffused revealing a pair of black eyes staring down at him. He peered speechlessly at the brunette who looked exactly like Usagi. She smiled at his shocked expression before putting her fingers over his eyelids sliding them shut.

"_It's time to wake up. She's waiting for you…"_

Once the fingers were removed, his eyes opened into tiny slits as he looked around. Confusion was plastered all over his face. The only thing he was able to distinguish was that his feet weren't touching the ground. Seiya turned his head towards the 8 ft-tall elder blinking a couple of times before he realized that he was a person and not another inanimate part of his surrounding. "Hayato Oji-san?"

"Looks like Yuumei managed to wake you." The elder smiled.

Little did Seiya knew, his overpowering telekinesis energy was so destructive that it destroyed all trees and existence within 40m of his radius, leaving nothing but a ruined platform around him. Despite the environmental damage, no life was lost due to the principal prompt arrival.

"Is Onee-chan alright?" Seiya asked desperately despite his lack of energy.

"Hoho!! No worries. She's fine." The elder widened his grin at his concern. Clearly, Seiya was in no state to be worrying about anyone else besides himself due to the overuse of his telekinetic power which drained most of his energy away, both externally and internally.

"Yokada(I'm glad)… I didn't kill Onee-chan…" Seiya let out a sigh of relief.

This made Hayato smile as he watched the brunet in his arms shut his eyes slowly, losing conscious due to insufficient energy.

Once Seiya had stepped into the state of unconsciousness, Hayato turned his attention to his invisible granddaughter standing beside him. "I'm sure you have sacrificed a large amount of spiritual energy just to get into Seiya-chan's conscious and stop him. Hoho! So, any last messages for Akatsuki before you return back to your physical body?"

"_Oji-san, can you please don't make it sounds like I'm never coming back?" _Yuumei pouted and gazed at the southern horizon, watching Usagi and Taiki with a troop of paramedics anxiously running towards her way. Clearly, none besides the elder could see her due to her current weak existence as an Ether. Bidding farewell to her grandfather, Yuumei quickly made her way towards Usagi and Taiki.

Hovering passed them, she voiced into their conscious. _"I'll be back by next week." _

Usagi and Taiki stopped their steps for a second, and turned around together, feeling the sudden disappearance of the weak presence. Their hearts sank at her departure, but they still managed to bid their gratitude with a smile.

"_Arigato, Yuumei."_

--

A minute later, the negotiator was heard announcing. "Match time: 1 Hour 12 Minutes. Team A's attacker broke Team B's King's crown. Therefore, the first class battle round has been won by Team A!"

--

* * *

--

"Big news! Big news!" A short boy with hair completely black on one side while the other has three white strips going across it burst into the room.

"What is it Kidd?" A pair of sibling asked together, not leaving their vision off the western chess they were playing against each other.

"Viper? Verde? Just the two of you here today?" Kidd frowned, looking a bit disappointed.

"What's there to be disappointed about? The Great Powers are seldom seen as a group… Checkmate!" Viper declared, winning the match.

As the winner, Viper withdrew his golden revolver and aimed at his brother, firing him in the head. The forceful shot knocked Verde backward as he sat lifelessly with his head tilled back, seemingly to be dead due to the direct headshot.

Bizarrely, a second later, Verde was heard giggling. He dropped his head back front. Blood trickled down from the open, shot wound on his forehead, steaming down his stitched nose and cheeks, and finally dripping off his chin. A drop slipped off and hit the back of his hand. Verde glanced at the bead of blood resting on his finger and laughed. "That hurts…"

"Want a rematch?" Viper asked with a grin as he watched his brother removed the bullet from his forehead.

"Anytime." Verde answered shortly, licking his blood from the back of his hand.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Kidd shrieked.

"Yes, yes. We are listening." The siblings said together as they repositioned the chess pieces, preparing for the next play.

"The twin is back!!" Kidd announced.

"What?! Akatsuki and Yuumei are back?!" Both of them shot up together, their expressions in shock.

"Just kidding." Kidd stuck his tongue out. "Only Yuumei returned. But she'll most probably leave after restoring her energy."

His joke annoyed the brothers as Viper aimed his revolver at Kidd, opening fire without any hesitation. Strangely, the bullet that was supposed to be shot right into Kidd's forehead made a bizarre 90 degree turned down, hitting the floor with a loud thud. It was as if someone had magnetically controlled the bullet, pulling it downwards with the power of gravity right before it made contact to Kidd's head.

"Phew. That was a close call. What if it really hit me? I don't have invulnerability like Verde. I'll really die from your shot, Viper." Kidd grinned relaxingly.

--

'_Invulnerability is the ability to be immune to one or more forms of physical damage or injury.' –Story fact. _

--

"You? Die? Who are you kidding? Even if you don't manipulate gravity to avoid my shot, the normal bullets I am using now can't kill you." Viper sat back down, returning his focus back to his chess play with his brother.

"I am not Verde. I've no interest to try whether I'll die from any of your normal or special bullets." Kidd stated before reaching for his right pocket and took out an USB thumb-drive. "The spies had sent back something really interesting. It's about the Aces. Any of you are interested to watch it?"

"The Aces?" Verde frowned, moving a chess piece forward. "You mean the infamous team in which Akatsuki chose over ours? What did the spies sent back regarding them?"

"Seiya Kou's destructive PK power and Akatsuki intimate kissing scene with Taiki Kou." Kidd stated with a casual grin.

"Kis-kissing scene?" Both the siblings dropped their chess pieces as Viper scratched the thumb-drive over from Kidd while Verde left the room hurriedly to get a laptop.

"Wow! You guys have the same reaction as Len did." Kidd laughed.

"What?! You showed it to Len already?!" Viper unpredictably shouted.

"You don't have to shout!" Kidd covering his both ears with his hands continued. "Yes, I showed this to Len already. What's the big problem? He's going to find out sooner or later."

Viper sighed, dropping back to his seat. "At least showed it to him when Zero is around. Let me presume, after watching it, he said something like: 'I am going to kill Seiya Kou and Taiki Kou!' am I right?"

"Wow! Viper, since when did you become a psychometrior?" Kidd exclaimed in amazed.

--

'_Psychometrior is one with the ability of psychometry, a form of extra-sensory perception(ESP) in which a psychic is said to be able to relate details about past or future condition of an object, person or location, usually by being in close contact with it.' – Story fact. _

--

"I didn't become a weak psychometrior. Didn't you know that Len had a crush on Akatsuki ever since young?" He shrugged before leaning back against his chair while twirling his revolver with his fingers. "That brainless Len had most probably left our headquarters without notifying Zero. And judging from his capability, it won't take him very long to reach the Psychical State and murder the Aces."

"No! He can't do that! After watching this video, Seiya Kou has just been selected to be in the Great Powers by the Yonkou. Len can't murder our future comrade! We got to stop him before Zero-sama finds out." Kidd exclaimed anxiously.

"Don't bother me." Viper reloading his revolver with a glowing red bullet stated. "I take no concern over Seiya Kou's death or whether he will be joining us. If you want to stop Len, then do it yourself… just don't get me involve."

"I forgot that you are a completely heartless demon." Kidd sighed heavily. Feeling the vibration from his cell phone, he reached into his left pocket and pulled out his cell answering the call in a cheerily tone. "Moshi Moshi, Kidd desu! (Hihi! This is Kidd.)"

Feeling bored, Viper began aiming his golden revolver at random things in the room, shooting various objects that his eyes landed on, causing loud explosions and disturbing Kidd's conversation.

"Can you stop your freaking shooting habit for a second here?! I'm on the line with Zero-sama!!" Kidd shrieked at Viper before returning back to his conversation with the Great Powers' leader.

Running low on bullets, Viper clutched his left hand into fist as he used his power of Materialization to create new ideal bullets of his desire. The moment he released his fist, six different coloured bullets were seen glowing simultaneously in his palm. He sequentially inserted them into his revolver, not glancing up even after Kidd had ended his conversation with their leader.

--

'_Materialization is a unique-leveled ability possessed by Viper, one of the Demon Brothers from the Great Powers of Satan. When Viper imagines something intently, he can manifest it in tangible form. His preferred techniques included materializing diverse bullets. Example, materialize blue bullets that will freeze anything they hit.' – Story fact._

--

"New mission?" Viper guessed his eyes still on his revolver.

"Hmmm… Viper? By any chance are you interested in education?" Kidd inquired with a blink.

His question brought Viper looking up, "Education?"

Holding a laptop with both his hands, Verde kicked open the door violently, entering the room just in time to hear their latest assignment.

"This is a direct order from Saiga-kamisama. All the 7 descendants of the Great Powers are to gather at the National Psychical Academy for registration into the new school semester intake. In other words, by the end of this coming summer, we are all going to be official students of the NPA."

--

* * *

--

"Thank you, Hayato-shifu for your help." Taiki bowed gratefully and the other Aces did the same out of respect.

"Hoho! It's nothing." The elder laughed, stroking his blonde, long beard. "Instead, you should be thanking Yuumei. It wasn't an easy task for her as it was for me."

"_Who is Yuumei?"_ The other Aces thought.

"I definitely will." Taiki faced contorted with worries at the mention of the name. "Will she be alright? She will be able to come back right?"

Hayato smiled lightly at the troubled Taiki before placing his big palm on the top of his head, calming him down with a pat. Reactively, Taiki looked up meeting the elder's warm smile. "One thing Yuumei is capable of doing while others can't is that she will never make Akatsuki worry for her. Also, Yuumei never lies. When she said she will be back by next week, she definitely will. So, why don't you be like Akatsuki and trust her words?"

"Yes. Oji-san is right. Yuumei will definitely be back."

All head turned towards Usagi who had just exited Seiya's room, closing the door quietly behind her as she proceeded down the hallway joining the group.

"Has Seiya regained his conscious yet?" Yaten asked anxiously.

Usagi shook her head while Taiki quickly voiced out, "Seiya is fine. He should wake soon and his injuries should be completely healed in a matter of days."

His console made Usagi nod with a gentle smile. "Thank you, Taiki."

The rest of the Aces let out a sigh of relief followed by Haruka asking, "Are the other two enemy attackers alright? I did vision them getting hit by Seiya's PK blast. But, they are not dead, are they?"

There was an awkward pause of silent till the elder broke it with a loud laugh, "Hoho! As long as the Aces and Seiya-chan are alright, the rest of the students can go to hell for all I care!"

"Oji-san, you shouldn't be saying such things when you're actually the principal of the academy…" Usagi sighed at her grandfather uncaring attitude while the others kept their opinions to themselves, not daring to voice out.

"I'm sure Hayato-shifu did manage to save them in time, right?" Taiki asked, craning his head up to look at the smiling elder.

"Hoho! I think so…" The elder laughed a response, obviously not answering the question seriously.

"…" Silence of disbelief filled the hallway for a second.

"Think so? They are already dead, aren't they?" Usagi concluded in a dull expression.

"I was just kidding! Don't worry, they are alive and kicking. " Hayato finally decided to stop his joking game on the Aces upon realizing it was time to make his departure. "Hoho! I've an appointment to attend. It's about time I get going…" He smiled warmly at the young group and hinted. "Take care, children. Remember to be extra cautious… Tomorrow will be a rough day for all of you…"

But before anyone could post a question, the elder was already gone, no where in sight. As usual, no one see how he went. Usagi sighed at her grandfather sudden departure but decided not to grumble about it, realizing that she had much more important matters to worry about.

"Mina-san (Everyone), listen up!" Usagi clapped her hands, drawing her friends' attention to her. "Since Yuumei won't be around this week, for safety purpose, besides schooling, no one is allowed to leave this house till she gets back…"

"Who exactly is Yuumei?!" Yaten, Yuki and Haruka asked at once. They had been hearing her name being mentioned for at least a dozen times today, and badly wanted to know who this Yuumei person was. She sounded significant enough, but couldn't understand why Usagi and Taiki were being so secretive about her.

"She's our team guardian angel." Usagi and Taiki answered together, surprising the group.

With this simple response, the both of them quietly headed for Seiya's room, but only to be stop by Yaten who quickly dashed forward, pausing right in front of them, blocking their path.

He gazed up at the pair seriously, asking, "What's your relationship with Satan?"

There was a brief moment of shocking silence. None spoke not knowing what to say at the question asked.

"Are we really forbidden to know?" Yaten concluded, deciding to break the unpleasant silence himself. All eyes were now on the quiet pair as Yaten switched his view from Taiki to Usagi. "The two of you are really keeping too much from us. I can't take this anymore! Why can't you tell us? I thought we are friends! A team! Do you know how torturing it is to be left out of everything?"

Usagi heart sank deeply at his words. This led her remembering the many times she had avoided opening up to Seiya, fearing the possibility of losing him if he was to know too much. She was being selfish, wasn't she? Now, she finally realized how excluded and tortured he and her friends must have felt when she kept everything from them. Such realization brought Usagi to emotionally shed a tiny drop of tear, shocking Yaten and everyone else in the hallway. Taiki looked concernedly at the sniffing blonde standing beside him, stroking her back thoughtfully, hoping to soothe her quiet cry.

Taiki then glared angrily at Yaten, wanting to yell at him for making Usagi cry but decided to hold back his flare upon noticing the guilty look Yaten was wearing at that moment.

"I'm sorry for shouting at you and for jumping into conclusion." Yaten apologized earnestly, reflecting on his previous harshness.

Thinking back, he doesn't have much right to be demanding Usagi and Taiki to tell him about their secret, since they were the ones who rescued him out of the Kou family confinement so that he could be with Minako. They had helped him so many time. But, what has he done for them? Nothing. Because they were both capable and independently strong in many aspects, Yaten was never given the chance to repay them in anyways. Besides, how could he be so certain that his friends were hiding something? For all he knew, they might be keeping nothing from him and he was just being too oversensitive about the matter.

"I didn't mean to suspect you or anything… I'm really sorry…" Yaten apologized again, his eyes unable to meet Usagi's due to the shame he was feeling on his previous action.

"Iie… I should be the one apologizing. Gomen neh, Minna. It's my fault… everything…" Usagi bowed apologetically to her friends, shocking them speechless. "Please don't blame Taiki… He got nothing to do with Satan. I am the one at fault… not Taiki… not Seiya… Gomen neh for dragging everyone into my mess…"

"Usagi, this isn't your fault! It's Satan…" Taiki stopped his protest at mid sentence, shocked to see Usagi smiling lightly up at him. "But, Taiki… I'm from Satan…"

Stunned by her words, everyone could only stare unbelievably at Usagi. Did they hear her right? It wasn't true, was it? The friend they trusted most was actually part of the world crime organization, Satan? They felt deceived and didn't wish to believe her proclaim, desperately hoping that she would laugh it off a second later, telling them she was only joking. But Usagi kept silent. She didn't start laughing as they had expected her to. She was just silent and serious.

"Lies!" Haruka was the first to break the silence. "You were the one who encouraged me to go against Satan's wrong doings and now… now… you are telling me that you are actually from Satan?! How can you expect me to accept this?! How am I to trust you now when you are actually part of a crime organization?!"

Angered, Taiki swiftly took three steps over to Haruka and yanked him up by the collar of his shirt with a deadly look. "What the hell do you know?! You don't understand a single thing Usagi needs to go through just to be here with us! Do you know how much she suffered? You know nothing, Haruka! So, what right do you have to be yelling at her?!"

"Taiki, stop it!" Usagi cries brought Taiki to release Haruka, stopping him from any further assault due to his anger. None spoke for another second. Minako and Yuki stood frozen as the situation sunk in while Yaten was still trapped in disbelief.

Usagi took a deep breath and smiled faintly, "What should I do? Everyone hates me now…"

All faces shot up to Usagi's, taken aback by her words.

"But, I guess it can't be helped." Usagi smiled relaxingly, wanting to lighten the mood. She didn't like the tension in the air and could understand her friends' feelings perfectly well. She couldn't blame them as it was only natural for them to be reacting this way. Just by knowing she was part of Satan was enough to traumatize her friends, and Usagi didn't need to say more to add the tension. "Gomen neh. I know my existence here upset everyone. And it's my fault to begin with… and…so... I will fix it…"

"How? By leaving?" Taiki asked clutching his fists. Everyone eyes widened another time as they tried to swallow Taiki's analysis. Wait a minute. Usagi's leaving the Aces? No way. It's true they were feeling uneasy and shock upon knowing her origin, but it doesn't mean that they wanted her to leave.

Usagi remained silent. Her face gave none of her thoughts away. Taiki took a huge step forward, grabbing Usagi by her wrist and holding it tightly. "Do you think I will let you leave just like that? As long as I am alive, I am not allowing you to return back to Satan. Usagi Tsukino, you are not to leave us, you hear me?"

Usagi gazed up at Taiki, her lips curved into a more mysterious smile. But she kept silent, with no intention to give any of her thoughts away. Then, a familiar voice from behind broke her composure.

"Onee-chan is leaving?"

Usagi spun around, only to find Seiya standing by his room entrance. He quickly ran towards Usagi, wrapping his arms around her and embracing her dearly. "Where is Onee-chan going? Is it because Seiya did something wrong that's why Onee-chan is leaving? I promise I'll be a good… So, don't leave Seiya! Onee-chan, don't leave Seiya alone! Bring Seiya along…"

For a moment, Usagi just froze there and so did everyone else. She listened to his pleads for a few more seconds before hugging him back. "Seiya? What are you saying? I am not going anywhere…"

"Really?" Seiya inquired, loosening his embrace to look at her in the eyes but kept his arms locked behind her waist, not giving her a chance to depart.

Usagi just smiled and gazed concernedly at him. She raised her hand touching the bandage wrapped around his forehead asking, "How's your head? Does it hurt?"

Seiya shook his head, but say no more as he continued to eye at her as if he was afraid that she might vanished if he was to look away.

"Taiki, is Seiya really going to be alright?" Usagi inquired, turning to face Taiki.

"Don't worry, Usagi. His head is probably made out of steel. A rock can't kill him. And the drug inside him should wear off by tomorrow morning, so he will return back to his normal self then. But because he had used up a large amount of his telekinetic energy, it's best that he rest well and not exercise any PK power these few days…" Taiki explained, glaring at Seiya who was also sending spiteful electrocuting wave into Taiki's eyes.

"You heard that, Seiya? You shouldn't be walking around. Come! You need more rest…" Usagi took Seiya's hand in hers, drawing his attention back to her and pulling him away from the group and into his room. She didn't want him to be wandering around the house and getting himself hurt by any chances. Also, this was an great opportunity for her to escape from her friends, believing that they weren't comfortable being with her now.

After the couple were out of sight, Taiki glanced back at the group behind him. Compared to minutes ago, his expression was calmer now, more composed but still deadly. "Does it really matter whether Usagi was from Satan? Don't tell me you guys are planning to disown her just because of this silly reason? What nonsense. To even think that any of you were smart enough to understand her difficulties…"

"I understand…" Minako responded in a small voice, taking everyone by surprise as she rarely voiced out during any group discussion. "I understand that Usagi must have her reasons for hiding this from us till today…

"Actually…" Yaten followed. "It doesn't matter whether she was from Satan. It still doesn't change the friendship we had built up throughout the years. Instead, I am really glad that she had finally opened up to us…"

"Though I only know Usagi-san for a few months, I think she is a really incredible person." Yuki voiced out honestly. "Everyone in the Aces is like a family to me and I don't wish to see her leave because of this… It will be so sad…"

"I'm really sorry…" Haruka looking down muttered an apology. Deep inside, he was mentally scolding himself and he swore he would apologize to Usagi immediately if she wasn't in Seiya's room. No need to be any more inconsiderate or upset her further by disturbing Seiya's rest.

"Tell that to Usagi." Taiki walking passed Haruka stated sternly. "The next time you throw such thoughtless remarks on Usagi, if Seiya doesn't kill you, I will."

It took Haruka a few seconds to realize he had angered someone dangerous. The normally gracious Taiki wasn't smiling now and made no attempt to cover his fury. It was not until he was out of sight can the tense atmosphere actually calm down for a bit.

--

* * *

--

"Seiya? What's wrong? Why aren't you sleeping?" Usagi asked concernedly as she pulled the chair closer to his bedside and stared into his dim-blue eyes wondering what that was bothering him.

Midnight was drawing close but yet he wasn't willing to get back to his sleep. Usagi definitely couldn't understand the reason behind his defiant. Was the injury on the back of his head hurting him? She had asked him several times but he just shook his head denying it as the reason for his rebellion. Normally, Usagi would give in to his defiance but not tonight for she clearly understood that a good rest was what he needed most in his present condition.

"Seiya, I will be really angry if you don't get some sleep soon…" Usagi lied with a pout, folding her arms as she looked away, hoping he will buy her act.

"Please don't be mad at me!" Seiya shot up and reached for her hands, holding them tightly as he pleaded for her forgiveness.

"_Ah! He's so adorable!"_ This made Usagi giggled lightly, embracing him like a little girl would hug her beloved teddy bear.

Normally, it was easy for the usual Seiya to see through her lies and laugh at her poor acting skill, teasing her even but not the present him. Despite missing his splendid cooking, Usagi wished he could stay in this mentality for a day longer, so she could be the one doing all the teasing instead of the other way around.

"So, Onee-chan is not mad at me?" Seiya blinked, surprised by her warm embrace.

"Ah! Yes! What am I doing? I should be angry at you…" Usagi muttered out loud but as soon as she released him, Seiya simply pulled her back into his arms.

The next thing she knew, she felt her legs leave the chair as she fell on top of him, shoving him onto his back on the bed.

"Seiya?" Usagi stiffened, taken aback by his action but didn't make any attempt to back away from his embrace. She lay silently on top of him, listening to his heartbeats and feeling the rise and fall of his chest.

Seiya tightened his hold, dropping his chin to rest on her head. "This way, Onee-chan will not be able to go anywhere…"

Usagi blushed a faint pink, finally realizing his worries. Once again, he had her temporary forgetting about the mission she needed to do tonight; due to her friend knowing her identity. But, the moment she closed her lids, the image of the Satan Tattoo intruded into her mind reminding her about her decision. She shot her eyes back open, but stay completely still for a few minutes checking to see whether Seiya was asleep.

Neither did he stir nor did his embrace loosen. Positive that he was asleep, she slowly slithered her way out of his arms finding it terribly difficult to escape without waking him due to his tight hold. It took Usagi a full half an hour to finally slide out of his arms. She stood at the side of his bed, letting out a quiet breath, relieved to find that she didn't disturb his sleep.

Then Seiya stirred, turning over until he looked like he was looking up at her and murmured, "Don't go… Onee-chan, don't leave me…"

Usagi eyes widened with shock. She held her breath, expecting him to jump at her the second later, but her assumption and Seiya's stillness now simply didn't coincide. For a minute, she thought he was awake, but a closer look at his close lids told her that he was only talking in his sleep.

"_Even in his dream, he worries about me leaving?"_ Usagi bended over, gently touching his dark long hair, careful not to wake him. Her eyes softened at his angelic face. She continued peering at him and her heart throbbed at the decision to leave, but her mind told her that she couldn't stay. Maybe she could, just for a minute longer. Sitting on the carpeted floor, she let her head rest on the empty spot while facing his charming face. Quietly, she brushed his hair away to gaze at his sleeping form and soon found herself peering at the little opening in his mouth between his lips.

Acting by impulse, Usagi leaned closer till her lips gently touched his, but quickly withdrew herself fearing that the kiss might wake him. She knocked herself lightly on the head with her knuckles, mentally scolding herself for her previous intimacy behaviour. She sighed quietly before looking back at Seiya, relieved that he was still asleep.

"Gomen neh, Seiya." Usagi murmured an apology and stared sadly at him for another second. "I might not be able to watch the sunrise with you tomorrow… Please forgive me…"

With this she stood up, glimpsing at him for one last time before exiting the room.

--

Seiya felt like he was in a movie theatre, except he was the star of that big movie playing. He saw himself chasing after Usagi who was walking away from him. Seiya wanted jumped down, and call her but he couldn't move from wherever he was. He was forced to watch the scene unravel after a group of young strangers approached Usagi, six of them bowing respectfully before her while the middle man reached out his hand to her. She stared at his hand for a second before sliding her hand in his and their hands locked. The young men then pulled her to their side as they proceeded towards a white limousine. Seiya wanted to call Usagi back, but his vocal wasn't functioning. He focused back on the scene as he saw himself running towards the group and calling out to her.

"_Don't go, Usagi!" He shouted, closing up to her. _

_The eight including Usagi turned around and eyed oddly at him. Three of them dashed forth and blocked his path. He wanted to activate his PK power but found his body restricted by a powerful gravitational pull. Feeling a heavy burden, one of his knees fell to the ground first and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get it back up. It was as if his whole body was trapped under a plane of strong magnetic field, seizing him on the spot and he could move no further. _

"_Just leave, I can take care of him." The short boy said with a smirk._

_Seiya eyes shot up in time to see Usagi turning away from him once again. He bit his lower lips, determined to get her back. "PK activated." _

_Forming a telekinetic aura around him, he repelled the gravitational pull, freeing himself from being entrap and shocking everyone. This made Usagi looked back at him again, her black eyes enlarged a little with a slight hint of amazement. To everyone surprised, she began to walk slowly towards him, eyeing at him as if she was looking at a complete stranger. _

_Without thinking, he dashed front and embraced her tightly. "I'm Seiya, Usagi! I'm Seiya! Please remember me!" _

"_Seiya? Usagi?" Usagi blinked at the unfamiliar names. One of the men proceeded forth wanting to separate them but Usagi raised her hand at him, ordering him to step back._

"_I'm sorry, but do I know you?" _

_Seiya's eyes shot up with pain at her question. He pulled away slightly and stared at her orbs of blackness. She just smiled casually at his shock expression. _

_Her eyes, he noticed, held no warmth, no feeling or any sort of emotion even though she was smiling. "Usagi… What happened to you? Don't you know who I am?" _

"_Usagi?" Usagi cocked her head as if in confusion. "My name is Akatsuki. Not Usagi. And you are Seiya right? Gomen neh, I'm sure I've never met you or heard your name before. I think you've got the wrong person…"_

_Shocked and sadness flashed in his eyes. Her words hurt him and the pain was indescribable. It was like someone had ripped his heart out, bursting veins, rupturing arteries, crashing his nerves. His whole body felt like as if it were being consumed by fire while someone shredded his heart into tiny shards that pieced and tore at his skin, leaving him burned and bleeding. _

"_Gomen neh… But, I've to go now." Usagi smiled another blank grin and turned away from him. Seiya stood there, feeling the insufficient energy to even raise his hand to grab onto her. He could see nothing else besides the ghostly image of Usagi repeatedly walking away from him._

"_Sayonara, Seiya."_

--

"USAGI!!" Seiya awoke with a start. He shot straight up sitting upright in his bed with thick sweat covering his entire body. His nightmare left him feeling devastated. He sat there paralyzed for a minute before he glanced around his room wildly realizing it was just a dream.

The back of his head throbbed painfully. Raising his hand, he found a bandage wrapped around his head. What actually happened? He could only vaguely remembered himself fainting after an invisible intruder injected a mysterious drug into him. Anything that happened afterward was more than just vague to him. He couldn't remember anything else, at least that what he thought till he sauntered off the bed and opened the door. His face shot up in surprise when he saw Taiki standing by the entrance. For a minute, the two boys just stood there, each holding a blank expression as they stared at each other in the eyes. Then for an unknown reason, the memories of Taiki crushing his lips onto Usagi's flashed passed Seiya's mind.

"I remember now! You are the pervert that kissed Odango!! How dare you...!" But before he could host an attack, Yaten and Haruka rushed over to the fury Seiya, holding him back before he beat Taiki up.

"Let me go, Yaten, Haruka! I am going to kill this bastard for violating Odango!" Seiya struggled to break loose as his two friends tightened their hold against him, realizing that Seiya and Taiki shared the same, strong physical strength and temper when provoked.

"It's pretty amazing that you can only recall that... But, it seemed like you've recovered back to your old self. That's a good sign." Taiki concluded with a straight face. He then craned his head up seemingly to be looking over Seiya's shoulder as if he was expecting someone to appear from the room behind the three boys.

"Did you force Usagi to spend a night in your room again?" Taiki frowned at the fury Seiya.

"What do you mean?" Seiya calming down a little due to the odd question inquired.

Taiki's eyes widened with surprise, "She's not in your room?"

Judging from Taiki's startled expression, the whole situation that Usagi had went missing or left them finally sank in to the four boys.

Feeling the fear he saw in his dream, Seiya stormed over to the third door on his left and opened it. He glanced wildly at the bedroom with walls of light-pink, hoping to spot a blonde somewhere in one of the four corners but there was no one in sight. The bed looked untouched and with the curtain pulled up and everything neatly in place, it clearly sent a message that Usagi didn't spend the night in her room.

Startled, Seiya reversed his steps, his back hit against the wall as he tried to calm himself down. Because of the nightmare he had earlier, he couldn't think straight and was too traumatized to even consider the possibility of her being in another room.

"Seiya! Listen to me!" Taiki's loud voice brought Seiya to look back up. He stared blankly at his friend shaking him, in the attempt to grab his attention. "Usagi has most probably gone to find Hayato-shifu. She will be back soon… "

"Really?" Seiya struggling to find his voice asked softly.

Taiki nodded glad to see Seiya coming back to his sense. It was his first time seeing the mentally strong Seiya trapped in such devastation, as if someone had just stolen away his world and soul.

Thinking back, Seiya had indeed been through the worse. He was able to endure being in a family who hated him, spent his early childhood in complete isolation and even experienced the scary trial of almost getting himself executed, but yet couldn't handle the lost of one single girl? But, Taiki couldn't blame him, fully understanding that Usagi was his world. Losing her was unacceptable. This goes the same for Taiki, himself. Though he had suspected the possibility of Usagi going back to Satan because of yesterday incident, he didn't believe she would leave them just yet, since Seiya hasn't fully recovered from his injuries. He knew her well enough to understand her exaggerating concern for Seiya and it was almost impossible that she would abandon him without learning whether he got better or not.

Then the door bell rang, drawing the two boys' attention as they rushed down the stairs instinctively thinking that it was Usagi at the door. They hurried across the living room, turned the corner and stopped a few feet away from the entrance.

Disappointment splattered across their faces when they realized Minako had opened the door to a young man dressed in full white; a complete stranger whom they had never seen before.

"Was it Usagi?" Yaten, Haruka and Yuki asked together, hurrying over to the entrance and were equally disappointed to find a unknown person standing by the doorway.

Without hesitation, Seiya turned away from the entrance not bothered to know who the stranger was. But the smell of a strong, strange scent forced Seiya to break his step. Perplexed, he spun around and his eyes trailed a luminous, red butterfly as it flew past him.

"Seiya! Watch out!"

Seiya heard Taiki shouted to him before he was shoved to the ground. The next thing he knew he was laying on the carpeted floor next to Taiki as more crimson butterflies began to fill the room. Seiya blinked, not catching a clue to what was happening around him. The first person his eyes landed on was Taiki who was laying two or three feet away from him, with a deadly black dagger stabbed right into his upper right chest. The weapon bizarrely dispersed into a small horde of flesh-eating butterflies as they slowly consumed Taiki starting from his wound.

"Taiki?!" But before Seiya could reach over to his friend, someone screamed from a short distance, drawing his attention back to the entrance. He noticed, to his disbelief, as the stranger summoned another swarm of crimson butterflies, attacking his friends who were caught off guard.

Instinctively, Yaten embraced Minako, shielding her from the paranormal butterflies as they landed helplessly on the ground. With the butterflies having the capability of multiplying themselves, Yuki was caught in a rough time trying to manipulate more ice barriers to protect his friends. Each time a butterfly was physically killed, it would bizarrely split into two, occupying the room with an additional rebirth.

In the meanwhile, the stranger had his eyes concentrated on Seiya who was able to use his telekinetic power to entirely eradicate the black butterflies infested in Taiki's wound. With the flesh-eating enigmas destroyed, Seiya examined the deep cut done on Taiki's chest realizing that his wound had turned a dark red with a hint of purple, a clear signification of a venomous infection.

A pain shot through Taiki's body making him groaned in agony. The paranormal toxic was killing him internally, boiling his blood and burning his veins. It was as if his body was being set ablaze from within, an inescapable torment of being burn alive.

Seiya stared helplessly at Taiki who was suffering, his eyes sharpened with anger as he glared up at the stranger coming their way. From the corners of his eyes, he noticed his other friends lying motionlessly on the cold floor. With anger taking over his body, Seiya recklessly attacked the stranger with a strong PK blast.

Immediately, the surrounding butterflies gathered before the stranger, changing to act as a shield and protected him from the powerful, invisible blow.

"I see. To be able to utterly destroy my Grimm, you are no doubt a unique-levelled." The stranger grinned mysteriously as he watched the shield before him shattered into million pieces due to Seiya's telekinesis attack.

--

'_Grimm is an offensive type of golem in the form of a butterfly. Created by a unique-leveled psychic, Len Mikki, one of the descendants of the Great Powers, it is a one of a kind golem with a mind of its own. Normally seen in a horde, the Grimm are capable of multiplying themselves, becoming a large swarm to consume Len's enemies, or change shape to act as shield or throwing dagger. Also, using his unique ability, Len is able to create different breed of Grimm to his favoring. For example, he can choose to slowly kill his enemies by creating the 'Black' Grimm (a poisonous, flesh-eating type) or paralyze his enemies by creating the 'Red' Grimm (an aggressive, anesthetic type). Due to these factors, the Grimm is referred to as a 'massacre weapon' and is said to be near impossible to destroy making Len an untouchable and fearful opponent.' – Story fact. _

--

Ignoring Len's word, Seiya angrily stretched his hand forth ready to activate another PK blast but hesitated when Len pointed his index at Taiki announcing, "The antidote to his poison is among the Grimm in this room." He retrieved his pointer, glancing at his finger as one of his red butterfly landed smoothly on it. "So, if you don't want him to die, I suggest you to stop destroying my Grimm and start searching for the one with the antidote instead."

"You…!" Seiya glared at Len, his anger rising along with the amount of butterflies in the room.

"Shall we play a game?" Len suggested with a wide smirk. "You see all these toys around you? Unlike the guy beside you, they aren't poisoned, only paralyzed physically by my Red Grimm. Yes, yes. Though unable to move, they are still conscious. So, they shall act as the audience for our game."

"You bastard! I don't have time for your game! Where's the cure to Taiki's poison?!" Seiya snapped.

"Be patient, I am getting there." Len explained leisurely. "The antidote is part of the game. So, to make my explanation short, in order to win, you got to find the White Grimm. It's the only one with the cure to the Black Grimm poison. But, if you can't find the White Grimm in within an hour, you will lose the game and your friend over there will then die. Plus, to make the game more interesting, the surrounding Grimm will attack and try to prevent you from finding the White Grimm. Of course, during the play, you may destroy as many Grimm as you want but I suggest you to remain defensive because you can never save your friend if you are to accidentally destroy the White Grimm that is hiding among the other Grimm. But be very careful not to get bitten by any of them, because you may either end up like the audience, physically paralyzed, unable to move… or even die by the Black Grmm poison."

"Seiya… Don't do it… Just eradicate all of them…" Taiki voiced out in pain, not wanting his friend to die from saving him. Seiya wasn't in any good physical condition to be defending himself against the aggressive Grimm. Presently, he wasn't even supposed to use any telekinetic energy as it will only stress up his body condition and hinder his recovery. But, despite knowing so, Seiya wasn't going to back down and let Taiki die. He was more than determined to locate the White Grimm even if it costs him his life.

"Be quiet. I'll definitely get the cure for you… So, just rest there…" Seiya ordered in a low voice.

"If you waste your time finding the antidote… You are giving time for the Red Grimm to evolve into the Black… afterwards… they will definitely feed on Yaten and the others… So, just… destroy all of them…" Taiki explained clearly to Seiya despite his extreme pain.

Dumfounded, Seiya just shook his head, unable to agree with the point of letting any of his friends die. Then, the applauding noise of two clapping hands brought Seiya to change his focus back to Len.

"Bravo, Taiki Kou! You are amazing to be able to see through my Grimm evolution. Is this the reason why Akatsuki-sama likes you so much?" Len's lips slowly curved downward, a display of jealousy and displeased.

The mention of the name, Akatsuki, stunned Seiya. From what he knew, no one besides the elder address Usagi by that name. And Usagi did mention to him before that 'Akatsuki' was her long, forgotten identity. And secretly, Seiya didn't like anyone addressing Usagi using the name which reminded him about his nightmare and the horrible feeling of coldness.

"Like… I thought… You are from Satan…" Taiki concluded, biting his lower lips while everyone was startled by his deduction.

Len laughed and clapped at Taiki's analysis. "I'm really amazed by you, Taiki Kou. The Aces isn't as weak as I thought…" He smirked, folding his arms. "You are right! But I'm not simply just part of Satan. I am one of Satan's Nine Great Powers. I'm sure you knew about us, Taiki Kou, since you stole our 'Dawn' and 'Dusk' away. But, you don't know how much I despise thievery…"

--

'_The Nine Great Powers is the cooperation of the most powerful descendents of Satan. Each of the descendants possesses his/her own unique ability and are all noted to be extremely powerful, possessing an inborn drive to kill heartlessly and easily. Because the Great Powers are all known to be unique-leveled, they can easily fight any psychics or magic users of any level lower than themselves, and are only given very significant mission, all directed by the founder of Satan, Saiga Furinji. _

_The 'Dawn' and 'Dust' mentioned, signify the 'Beginning' and 'Ending' of the Nine Great Powers. Akatsuki meaning Dawn was the first direct descendant. She was the beginning of the Great Powers while her twin, Yuumei was the finish of the Nine. Also well-known in Satan as 'The Twin', they represent 'The Bond' and 'Completion' of the Great Powers and therefore are noted as extremely vital between the seven other descendants.' – Story fac_t.

--

"So, let us begin my game of punishment…" Len announced as the surrounding butterflies began to mob in at Seiya.

Using his telekinetic energy to levitate nearby objects, Seiya shielded himself from the attacking Grimm, careful not to destroy any of them without assuring the White Grimm's location. He knew that his PK blast can accidentally wipe out the White Grimm therefore he can't afford to be careless. Evading the attacking butterflies, Seiya skillfully eradicate each evolved Black Grimm before they can feed on any of his paralyzed friends. And though he showed no sight of exhaustion, all the multi-tasking was unconciously wearing his body out.

Seiya swiftly slashed another nearby swarm after clarifying that the White Grimm wasn't among the mob. With half of the Grimm destroyed, he eventually spotted a white colored butterfly at a distant. But before he could catch it with his PK pull, the surrounding Grimm began to multiply themselves once more obscuring the sight of the White Grimm.

Then, multiple black daggers were darted forth as Seiya managed to destroy them in time before they land a cut on him. But, he was caught off-guard to the next attack as Len charged forth, slashing Seiya by his right arm with a long, thin sword made out of his Black Grimm.

Seiya groaned at the killing pain as his left hand instinctively flew to his right arm, clutching onto his bloody, poison-infected wound. One of his knees fell weakly onto the floor as he tried to fight the venomous pain that was crazily hurting his body, from the inside out.

"Seiya…!" Taiki called out helplessly.

He watched to his dismay how Len nastily gripped Seiya by his hair, lifting him up to his eyes level. Instantly, another set of piercing pain shot through his veins, forbidding Seiya to find the strength to even fight back.

"I don't get Akatsuki-sama… Why did she choose the Aces over us?" Len peered intensely at Seiya, meeting him in the eyes. "What's so great about you, anyway?! Why must Akatsuki-sama go through this much for someone who run the same blood as the family that killed her mother?!"

Everyone eyes including Seiya's shot up with shocked at the proclaim made.

"Oh… You don't know?" Len smirked at his startled expression as he gazed over to Taiki who was now clutching his fists so hard that his veins were made visible. "Taiki Kou, why don't you tell everyone how the Kou family used the Furinji's as a stepping stone and even went to the extent of murdering Akatsuki-sama's mother to achieve their current glory status? Yes! Say something! You knew about this don't you?! Tell them! Tell them about the monstrous act of the Kou's 15 years ago!"

"You are lying! You are lying! Usagi never said anything about this…" Seiya snapped and found himself trapped in a paralyzed state. It wasn't because of the poison anymore, but the chaotic mess of various emotions smothering up within him as the outrageous news sunk in. He didn't want to believe that the Kou family was the cause to her mother's death, because such horrible fact was another indication to his undeserving right to be with her. Shouldn't she hate him? She should and have every right to, because now, he despised himself for being born a Kou and wished that he could just change his blood and skin with any other random person outside of his family's.

"I'm not lying." Len responded, glaring back at Seiya. "And her name isn't Usagi. It's Akatsuki Furinji, the pioneer descendant of the Great Powers of Satan…With the Satan Tattoo in her left arm being the ultimate prove. Only the Nine Great Powers hold the Satan Marks, an indication of the true descendants and because of this, Akatsuki will always remain as the Great Powers… and eventually return to us…"

Seiya's face shot up at Len's, his eyes widened another time out of absolute shock. He didn't need anymore of this stunning news to increase the gap between Usagi and him. As if the first news wasn't devastating enough, he even needs to be told that she belongs to the Great Powers of Satan? His terrible nightmare was becoming a reality now, wasn't it? She had left him to go back to Satan, hadn't she? With such painful thoughts repeatedly flowing in his mind, Seiya couldn't feel the venomous pain burning through his veins anymore. In short, the emotional pain had overpowered any physical torment and he wouldn't mind if someone was to stab his heart to aid his emotional suffering.

"You are really pathetic. I don't see why you deserve to be in the Great Powers! The nine of us are enough… we don't need a tenth…" Len scowled, raising his thin sword up in the air. On the other hand, Seiya's vision was empty with no intention to resist from the falling sword. He couldn't bring himself to fight back, not with all these chaotic mess of emotions torturing him mentally.

"Don't hurt Seiya!"

This familiar voice that came from the entrance woke Seiya up as the sword stopped its attack in the midst. All eyes turned towards the blonde standing by the entrance as silence of complete disbelief covered the room.

Stepping into the ruined living room was none other than Usagi herself, and for a second, she just stood there wordlessly as she scanned through the chaotic surrounding.

Her eyes almost held flames in them when she noticed her unmoving friends abandoned on the cold floor. But after she noticed that Taiki and Seiya were actually injured, these feelings of worry and concern were wrapped into an emotion she hardly experience; anger. This anger was taking over her body as her irises slowly began to darken.

"Don't… Usagi…"

Taiki, with all his available strength, tried reaching out to Usagi, in a pure desperation to stop her from evolving into a psychic weapon. His painful struggle distracted Usagi, bringing her focus back to him. Temporary dropping her anger, she rushed over to Taiki and as soon as she dropped down to his side, he allowed his heavy body to fall on her lap, hugging her tightly.

"I know you will be back…" Taiki muttered with a grateful smile, feeling the tormenting burden being lifted away from his heart. He badly wanted to cry out in relief, but tears of joy weren't that all appropriate at a situation like this. He was dying and so was Seiya. With only one antidote, there wasn't anything to be celebrating about.

"Taiki! You are badly injured!" Usagi exclaimed in devastation as she stared at his deep wound. The sight was disgusting; his cut had turned dark purple, with a bright red border surrounding it.

"I'm fi-fine…" Taiki muttered a lie, looking up at Usagi seriously. "Get the antidote and save Seiya…"

"Seiya?" Usagi glanced across the room and her eyes instantly flew over to the wounded brunet who was still trapped inside Len's grip. Seiya gazed at her with a wholehearted smile as his dim-blue eyes softened with a clear spark of relief.

"I'm so glad… you came back…" Seiya smiled an elated smile making Usagi heart throbbed at his words, followed by a sudden strong desire to hug him. But, this was soon disturbed by Len who uncaringly released his grip on Seiya, allowing him to collapse onto the floor.

"Seiya!" Usagi called out in dismay, feeling a crack in her heart.

"Akatsuki-sama! It's really you…" Len widened his arms happily at the sight of his admirer. "We have been trying to contact you for years! Why didn't you answer to us? We really miss you! Come back to us… to Satan..."

Both Seiya and Taiki winced at his statement as they struggled to get back on their feet with great effort. None of them were willing to allow Len to take Usagi away, not after she had made her return. But, Usagi's next sentence stopped their reckless movements as she glared up at Len, saying, "My name is Usagi. Not Akatsuki. I don't know you and I have no interest in Satan…"

Her declaration shocked Seiya. It sounded exactly like what he heard her said in his dream only that she was now forwarding it to someone else and not him, much to his relief.

Usagi carefully settled Taiki to rest on the floor, stroking his hair to calm him down before she stood back up. She glared at the startled Len, feeling her anger making a rebirth. "Give me the cure to my friends' injuries."

"Akatsuki-sama?! Don't you remember me? I'm Len!" Len ignoring her request half-yelled, in desperation to make Usagi recall him. "When we were much younger, we used to train together, remember? You used to encourage me a lot when I'm down… and I've always admire your ability to accomplish the impossible… It's alright if you've forgotten about me… But you do remember Zero-sama, at least… right? He used to be the closest to you and Yuumei-sama…"

"Zero?" Usagi hitched at the name, somehow recalling a vague image of the person.

The present Usagi wasn't the unemotional Akatsuki back then. She couldn't remember much about her days in Satan or most of the Great Powers. To be precise, besides Yuumei, there was nothing or no one special enough for her to keep a recollection of, even though the other seven descendants were all extremely powerful children especially their leader, Zero.

"Remind him and Daifu that I'm no longer part of Satan, but I'll be going back to claim Yuumei's body… As for now, give me the cure to Seiya's and Taiki's injuries."

"I can't understand you, Akatsuki-sama! The Aces are you care about?! What's so good about them?! Their overall standard is not even a quarter of the Great Powers!" Len shouted in disbelief. "All the Kous deserve to die, including the two of them! They are from the family that killed your mother! They don't deserve you!"

"They got nothing to do with mother's death!" Usagi yelled back, her irises slowly darkening. "Give me the cure NOW!"

"Do want to save them this badly?" Len asked with a slight hint of grief. He paused for a second, suddenly dropping his head as he giggled crazily. "I see. No matter what I say, you will still side them." He gazed back up and smiled sweetly at Usagi. "You are my idol, Akatsuki-sama. So, I'll give you whatever you desire..."

Usagi watched silently as a mysterious, white butterfly obediently landed onto the tip of Len's index. "This is the antidote to the poison."

He directed the Grimm to fly over to Usagi as she cupped her hands together to form a little bowl, allowing the butterfly to land into her palms before closing them.

Then, something hit her.

There was only one.

Her face shot back up at Len's, seeing his evil grin. "Yes, I've only got one White Grimm with me. So sadly, you can only save one of them. Akatsuki-sama, I wonder who you will choose..."

There was a silence pause as Usagi switched her view from Taiki to Seiya, finding herself lost in a world of devastation. It was clear. Give the White Grimm to one, the other will die. There wasn't a choice. She was literally force to lose someone close and important to her! It was a cruel scheme, one that hit her with crushing pressure. Usagi dropped her face to stare at the butterfly in her palm, finding it difficult to breathe. She couldn't think of anything else beside the one message of not bearing to let any of them die. No doubt, Seiya was too essential to her, a person she couldn't live without. Alternatively, this applied to Taiki, because to lose the one person she trusted most was definitely intolerable.

"Usagi, what are you pondering about? Give Seiya the White Grimm… Quick!" Taiki urged, clutching onto his wound as he struggled to sit back up. But to his surprise, Seiya was already on his feet as he sauntered over to Usagi. Stopping right before her, he glanced down at the white butterfly in her palms and Usagi kept her stillness, facing down the entire while.

"An hour is almost up for Taiki…" Seiya whispered gently to Usagi. "If he doesn't get the antidote now, he will really die…"

Usagi remained silent. Her face was kept down, so none could read her emotion or thought. A second later, she lifted her head surprising everyone with a bright smile dedicated to Seiya. Immediately taking in her silent indication, his lips were seen curving along with hers.

"Neh Seiya…" Usagi gazed concernedly at his dreadful wound. She lifted her hand to touch his right arm, but she dropped it before her finger grazed the deep cut. "Does it hurt a lot?"

"No…" Seiya shook his head lightly with a smile, not wanting to make everything more difficult with a frown. He didn't wish to make her worry and definitely didn't want her to give the White Grimm to him, clearly knowing that Taiki needed it more than he did at that point of time. He couldn't allow his best friend to die even if it meant to cost him his life.

Usagi smiled half-heartedly at his response but said nothing. Looking warmly at Seiya for one last time, she turned and walked away from him. A faint smile etched across Seiya's face when he saw Usagi dropping down beside Taiki. Holding onto his wrists gently but securely so he couldn't resist, Usagi ignored Taiki's crying opposition as she directed the White Grimm over to his wound.

The butterfly dispersed upon touching his cut, neutralizing the poison as his face gradually turned back to its original healthy tone. But in the inside, Taiki was feeling everything but well. And soon, all these negative emotions just collided into one splotch forming a feeling known as, sheer agony.

"Seiya... What about Seiya?" Taiki peered intolerably at Usagi, shaking her at the same time.

Usagi kept quiet, allowing Taiki to grumble upon his grief. For the next few seconds, Usagi just sat there, facing down at the agonizing Taiki, not wanting to look up and witness the upsetting scene of Seiya dropping back down onto the hard ground.

"I'm surprise. Looks like Akatsuki-sama chose to let you die…" Len chuckled, eyeing down at the dying brunet.

Seiya remained silent, shutting his eyes slowly as a gesture to welcome death. But, Usagi's sudden declaration drew his attention back to his surrounding.

"You're wrong. I've no intention to let Seiya die."

All eyes flew over to Usagi as she gently placed Taiki back to his laying position. She got back on her feet and allowed a mysterious smile to adorn her face before lifting her lids, shocking everyone speechless with a diverse pair of eyes. Like effect of Heterochromia, each of her irises shared a different colour; her right being blue while her left was a dark black. This bizarre change in one of her eye tone startled everyone quiet. But what shocked them further was the withdrawal of a short, sharp blade from her right pocket.

The scene of Usagi holding onto a dangerous knife was what everyone stunned upon. What was she trying to do? Was she planning to host an attack on Len? But, that would be pointless, won't it? A simple weapon like this can't even graze him, not to mention kill. Furthermore, if she really wanted him dead, shouldn't she be using her power instead? She is a deadly weapon, herself, and she definitely didn't need the use of another on-hand weapon to do her job.

Then, her next action brought everyone panicking even more as she directed the blade to herself as if she was intending to suicide.

"Usagi?! What are you doing?! Don't…!" Seiya and Taiki both shouted together, desperately trying to get to her so they could separate her from the unsafe weapon. Even Len took a step forth, intending to use his Grimm to steal the knife away.

But before they could get any closer, Usagi glimpsed at the three boys shortly, overloading their minds with a psychic energy. It wasn't a psionic attack that inflicted pain into another's mind, thus it didn't hurt. However the paranormal energy forced a block to the mind sensory system, temporary freezing everyone's desired action. Unlike Yaten and the others, their bodies weren't paralyzed but abnormally, their minds won't permit them to do anything else besides breathing. They couldn't feel, move or even talk and were left to stare helplessly at Usagi smiling lightly back at them.

"Gomen neh, Minna… This will only last for a minute." Usagi stated. Her smile was seen fainting as she glanced around her, looking at her other friends paralyzed on the floor. "I'm very sorry. It's all because of me that everyone got hurt... I know that my present existence brought nothing but problems... Because of me, everyone got involved with Satan… I'm really sorry…"

Little did she know, her apologies inserted a terrible sting to her friends' hearts, they badly wanted to oppose to her words but found themselves still restrained, and could only remained where they were, listening to her self-blaming.

She glimpsed at Len, meeting him in the eyes. "Gomen neh, Len-san. The Akatsuki you knew is not me. She's the real psychic weapon… An unfeeling, lost little girl whose smile doesn't meant a reason. And, she doesn't exist anymore. But, you are right about one point... No matter where I go or who I am with, as long as I carry the Satan Tattoo, my identity will forever be with Satan. But, I've decided that it shall all end today..."

All hearts thumped, as she directed the knife over to her upper-left arm where the Satan Tattoo clearly set visible.

"Len-san, do you remember the two reasons why Daifu granted the tattoo to the Great Powers?" She asked, smiling over to Len. "Besides sealing our identities, the other reason was because the tattoo is made out of paranormal pigment that eliminates any venomous essence, so as the chosen descendants, we are all immune to any deadly, poisonous attack… and though I thought it was a really cool protection, I never once needed it. Till now…"

She gazed over at Seiya who held such extreme pleading expression that it was very clear that he was silently begging her to stop what she was intending to do.

"Baka Seiya… Do you seriously think I will let you die? Saying such things in your dream, you still don't know how important you are to me..." She continued with a gentle smile. "And I heard Haruka had a vision that I will be returning back to Satan. But, with this…" She raised the blade higher as she proceeded. "I will change the future and Seiya won't have to die…"

Dismay, agony, disbelief and horror filled everyone's hearts as they watched agonizingly how Usagi repeatedly stabbed her left arm with the sharp blade, staining her arm with blood and disfiguring the tattoo design. The scene of blood gushing, streaming down her arm and finally dripping off the tip of her fingers at each stab was way beyond just devastating to witness.

Stop!

Yes, that's what everyone was screaming in their heads right now. But as for Seiya, he wasn't just yelling mentally, he was feeling a desire so strong that his internal telekinetic energy began to reactivate by itself from within, dominating Usagi's psychic force that was blocking his sensory system and freeing his frozen state.

Usagi stopped her attack on herself when she realized a familiar hand holding onto her wrist, preventing her from dealing another strike. She glanced up, surprised to see Seiya looking painfully down at her. He quickly pulled her into his arms, embracing her as tight as he could. The tight embrace indirectly allowed his right, noxiously wounded arm to make contact with her left, allowing the paranormal tattoo pigment and her blood to slip into his wound quietly, slowly neutralizing the poison.

Dumfounded, Usagi dropped the blood-stained knife and it landed onto the floor with a clang. A smile etched across her face as she hugged him back and for a moment, none of them spoke, each delightfully taking in that the other was now safe.

"Seiya, you lied to me…" Usagi pouted but did not break from the embrace. "It hurts terribly…"

"Of course it hurts! What are you thinking?! You almost killed me with worries!! I am not allowing you to do such stupid thing again, you hear me?!" Seiya snapped but tightened his hold, regretting on not telling her the truth that his wound actually hurt horribly, though it was nothing compared to the pain he felt when he saw her stabbing herself.

"Hump! It wasn't stupid!" Usagi puffed her cheeks, believing that she was pretty smart to come up with such a way to save his life. "And, that's for lying to me… This teaches you not to lie to me the next time…"

"I'm sorry… I swear I will never lie to you again… I'm sorry..." Seiya apologized and soon found himself growing dizzier as the second passed, finally realizing how weak his body actually was with all the blood lost and telekinetic energy used. He pulled himself away and peered affectionately down at her, moving his hands to her cheeks, asking, "You are not going anywhere right? You are not leaving me right?"

His intimate question brought a smile to Usagi's face as she covered his hands with hers, "I never once said I'm leaving. Besides, with the Satan Tattoo destroyed, I've no more reason to go anywhere… So, don't worry…" She gently pulled him back into her arms, with the purpose to support his drained body. "Just rest… I promise the next time you open your eyes, I'll be there…"

Seiya nodded his head, dropping it to rest on her shoulder. He trusted her words and her warmth felt too comforting for his body to bear as he shut his lids and everything around him faded into the dark abyss.

Yes, she was not leaving him… Not for now at least…

--


	16. Breaking through the Crisis

--

**Breaking through the Crisis**

--

In the centre of the dim, spacious room stood a charming young man with long, braided hair of dark blue. He gazed at the huge, vertical, transparent tube that contained a nude brunette in its inside; the body of Yuumei Furinji. As usual, she remained suspended motionlessly in the liquid with a number of IV's hooked into her arms and head, along with an additional inhaler forced into her mouth. Her eyes remained close, her expression unchanged; calm and peacefully asleep.

The young man remained quiet as he continued staring at the body of Yuumei's. This was his third visit of the week, yet she wasn't willing to open her eyes on him.

"You are still as stubborn as always…" He commented in a low voice as he turned away.

--

"_You are no better… Zero…" _

_--_

This familiar voice intruding into his thought had caught him off guard. For the first time, the inexpressive leader of the Great Power actually widened his eyes in surprise. But this rare expression only wavered for a second as he quickly regained the cool composure he usually exhibited, turning to face Yuumei with a hardly visible smile.

"So, you've finally decided…" Zero looked straight up, meeting Yuumei in the eyes. Her body did not budge or move from it position; only her eyes were seen opening and her lips curving into a subtle smile.

"_Yes… I have."_ Yuumei answered as she released herself from the static stance. As she did, the fluid around her began to circulate in speed, colliding and pressuring the interior walls.

-CLANG-

It exploded.

Zero remained at his stance, his eyes on the nude brunette as she yanked the remaining IVs out of her arms and body. He stared at her, watching droplets of water slid down her face and bare body. Her long, black wet hair hanged loose, acting like a cover for her exposed exterior.

Leaping off from the platform, she calmly walked across, stopping right in front of Zero. She stared at him for a second longer before leaning closer and stopping just when her lips were about to touch his.

She smiled at his composed expression and whispered, "Tadaimasu (I'm back)…"

--

* * *

--

"Seiya!! Taiki!! Over here!! I've spotted the enemy's king!!" Usagi, the team spy, shouted in vain, not bothering to even conceal herself from the nearby enemies.

"It's the Aces!! Everyone! Be on guard!! Protect Mizuno-san!!"

But before any of the defenders could react, an invisible gush of force swiftly whipped passed them, destroying their pin-balls in an instant.

--

"King, Seiya Kou from Team A has defeated defenders, Minaguchi and Ise Hiiragi from Team F. Therefore Minaguchi and Ise Hiiragi have retired…" The negotiator announced.

--

"As expected from the Aces, instead of defending, the King is doing all the '_killing_'?" Ami smiled lightly as she gazed at the Aces, who have now gathered around her.

"It's only right for the King to lead his troop to victory." Seiya replied simply with a smirk.

Ami chuckled at his response. "Well, I think I should surrender then."

"Surrender?" Taiki, the attacker, appearing from behind inquired with disbelief. "You didn't put up as much of a fight as I thought you would, Mizuno-san."

"Because I was given the order not to…" Ami muttered a reply which was barely audible as her crown burst upon Taiki swift assault, instantly ending the class match.

--

""Match time: 13 Minutes. Team A's attacker broke Team F's King's crown. Therefore, the third class battle round has been won by Team A!"

--

"What? It ended already?" Usagi pouted, displeased that the match finished too soon.

Like the rest of the Aces, throughout the thirteen minutes play, she had barely done anything useful.

It was like a one-man show; Seiya would spot any enemies before Usagi or Minako could, after which, destroyed their pin-balls before Taiki or Haruka could even host an attack and defended himself just fine which made both Yuki and Yaten seem practically unneeded. Though everyone in the team agreed that it was indeed unfair to have such a powerful psychic to be competing in a mere class tournament, no one besides Usagi was complaining.

"I hope they don't pick you as the King for the Final round." Usagi looking up at Seiya pointed out honestly. "Because it's just not fair… You are way too strong, no one can defeat you."

"Look who's talking…" Yaten, Yuki and Haruka spoke together, their eyes on their two unique-levelled team mates.

"Eh?" Usagi blinked, not getting their words while Seiya chuckled at her oblivious.

The rest of the team sighed not understanding why the couple were required to attend the academy when they were already this powerful. Though they had only witnessed half of Usagi's unique ability, it was enough to utterly amaze them. Adding on to the astonishment was Seiya's capability to overpower her strong, mental-psychical energy. And to make matter worse, today class battle just proved that he had grown much stronger.

How great!

An exceptionally powerful PK-user together with an inborn Psychic-weapon. There are clearly two monsters in their team, aren't there?

No! Wait!

All eyes followed Taiki as he proceeded forth to Usagi and Seiya while voicing his prediction, "You should be thankful that he's the King for this round, Usagi… Because if he was the attacker, the match would have ended in minutes…" He shook his head before continuing. "Since a player as aggressive as Seiya will just go straight for the opponent's King…"

"At least I'm no professional harasser unlike someone here…" Seiya glaring at Taiki with a smirk argued.

The rest of the Aces watched silently as Seiya and Taiki started their usual love rivalling, with Usagi trying to stop them from between.

Ah, yes.

How can they possibly leave out Taiki, the world renowned genius? Taiki had just admitted that he was most probably wanted by Satan because they suspected him of hacking into their system years ago -- which he did so to gather information about Usagi -- .

This confession seriously came as a big shock for his comrades since it was the world most influential organization, Satan, they were talking about here. And, to even think they were living with someone who held the capability to invade into their impossibly tight network without getting caught did seemed unimaginable. Even till today, his level of intelligence remained unknown. But judging from his strength to do the impossible, like Seiya and Usagi, Taiki was most probably a unique level.

"Congratulation, Seiya-san… on getting the victory…" All heads turned towards the girl who was approaching Seiya. She was accompanied by her team and Ami. They stopped before the Aces, congratulating them out of courtesy.

"Sorry for not introducing myself… I'm Michiru… Nice to meet you, Seiya-san." Michiru held her hand out to Seiya with a genuine smile.

"Nice to meet you…" Seiya smiled and extended his hand out to hers in consideration.

Usagi shifted her attention to their locked hands and frowned lightly. Honestly, she didn't like this Michiru person nor was she fond of Ami. It was indeed rare of Usagi to be holding grudges against someone whom she had only met, but there was something about them that triggered unpleasantness. Somehow, she thought she had seen them somewhere before, but no matter how hard she tried to recall, she couldn't remember where and when.

Besides, for some unknown reasons, she didn't enjoy seeing Seiya getting friendly with any other girl beside her. She was used to keeping him and his smile for herself, and anyone outside the team should always keep a distance from him. Her dark side did not permit anyone to hurt or try to get too close to him.

"You must be Usagi-san…"

"Eh?" Usagi looked up at Michiru, getting shoved away from her train of thoughts.

"I've heard many amazing stories about you…" Michiru smiled and bowed slightly, as if she was greeting her superior. "…you are truly exceptional, it's no wonder you are Seiya-san's girlfriend…"

"Girlfriend?!" Seiya and Usagi blushed together while the rest of the Aces were taken aback by the assumption made.

"As if I will ever let that happen…" Taiki declared aloud, glaring at Seiya.

"You don't have to get overly jealous over our future, Taiki." Seiya smirked with confident as the two boys began sending spiteful electrocuting waves into each other's eyes.

"There they go again…" Yaten sighed.

"So, does it mean that Usagi-san is actually Taiki-san's girlfriend then?" Ami asked intentionally.

"Of course not!" Seiya immediately shouted a reply.

"It won't do you any good if you chose to deny the future fact, Seiya." It was now Taiki's turn to smile.

"I don't see how it can become a fact…!" Seiya argued back.

"Pardon me…" Yuki interrupted. "But I believe it's about time we should get going… We have an appointment with the vice-principal, don't we?"

"Right. I've totally forgotten about it..." Seiya and Taiki spoke together, stopping at the mid-sentence only to realize that they were expressing the same thoughts as they stared at each other for a second longer before turning their heads away with a faint blush, simultaneously.

Usagi giggled lightly as she took Seiya and Taiki by their hands, urging them to leave the battle field. She wasn't fond of standing in the open and doing nothing. "Hayaku (Hurry up)!! Minna (Everyone)!! Hayaku!!"

"Pardon us." Taiki glanced at Ami, bidding his farewell as he followed Usagi's lead.

Haruka glimpsed at Michiru for one last time, noticing that she was still staring at Seiya. She saw her lips curved into a more subtle smile as if she had just uncovered a mystery or discovered something fascinating. Somehow, he thought she looked familiar, but his memories held no recollection of ever knowing her personally.

Maybe Michiru had caught him staring a little too long as she shifted her attention to him. She gazed at him oddly for a second before smiling sweetly back making Haruka flushed a light red.

"How long are you planning to keep standing there, Haruka?" Yaten shouted across.

This caught Haruka's attention as he finally realized that his friends were now quite a distance away from him. He let out a soft sigh before picking up his speed and chasing after them.

One the other hand, Ami and her group stayed behind as they watched the infamous team departed into the distance.

"You knew that beginner levelled sensor, Haruka Tenoh?" Ami asked.

"Maybe…" Michiru answered in a murmur with a hardly audible voice. "Maybe he was one of those I knew before I got transferred into Satan."

It was one of Satan's recruitment's rules: All new intakes are required to have their identities along with their memories erased. Additionally, their families, friends and any other associates were also forced to forgo their existences to prevent the world from ever learning about them. This was needed to sustain Satan as a highly confidential organization.

Staring up at the bright blue sky, Michiru watched as a fowl of birds flew passed the soft drifting clouds. Acting by her impulse, she reached her hand up, sketching it towards the sky. Many times, even now, she envied the birds; they seemed to have all the freedom that she could only dream of having.

"It's impossible…" Ami analysing her thoughts stated softly. "We should just appreciate who we are now."

Michiru slowly turned her gaze over to her friend and shook her head. _"Appreciate when I don't even remember who I truly was… Who… Who am I?"_

Yes. This question lingered after her every action and thoughts. Her identity, past, memories… She wanted to know them all! But she knew how impossible it was to go against the world most dominating organization, Satan. There was no saying what Satan was capable of doing especially when they have the Yonkou as their alliances and the Great Powers as their descendants. Even the World Government considered the Satan's authorities to be so powerful that they secretly fear to confront any of the Yonkou and Great Powers. So, how can she, a mere psychic, go up against such fearful forces?

Death was the penalty for betraying and leaving Satan.

Only someone as absurd as Usagi would dare to challenge them. Famed as the favourite descendent by the founder of Satan, Saiga, she was unquestionably the pioneer of the Great Powers and was said to have the capability to achieve the impossible. She did it alright; even going to the extent of destroying the significant Satan Tattoo to not only save her comrade, but to leave Satan once and for all.

But, it did not end there. At least, Satan will never allow her to.

Instead, her outrageous act had alerted not only the spies, but the Great Powers, Yonkou and practically the entire Satan Organization. From what Michiru knew, Saiga and the Yonkou sent the Great Powers down to the academy for two reasons: to seek the chance to get hold of Usagi, and to seize Seiya and Taiki.

While Saiga main concern was Usagi, the Yonkou took a great interest in Seiya especially after noting his capability to overcome Usagi's unique power. He was frighteningly dangerous, deadly even, but that just strengthened the Yonkou favours for him since all his attributes matched the Great Powers, perfectly.

Taiki, on the other hand, could either be a huge threat or a great ally depending on the side he was on. The Great Powers understood that he was someone to be reckoned with and definitely not to be underestimated. He was the key reason why Satan was unable to get hold of Usagi for the past years since no plan goes smoothly against the genius' will.

It was believed that if they were to join the Great Powers, Satan could ultimately overthrow the World Government, defeat the invisible Hayato, and take over not just the National Psychical Academy but the entire world.

However, from the looks of it, nothing seems to be going easy for both sides.

No doubt it will turn out to be a long, tedious battle.

--

* * *

--

"As requested by Hayato-kouchou, I hold this meeting to brief everyone about the Special Class allocation for the next semester." The vice-principal, Yuzuru Suou began off by distributing pieces of documents over to the Aces, who were seated around him.

"S-Class?" The group murmured together as they scanned through the sheets of information.

"To make it short, the S-Class is a new class arrangement established by the principal for the new school term." Yuzuru explained as he sat back down. "Only the top and few selected students from each grade are chosen to be in this class. No doubt, the Aces are part of it, which is why I've gathered everyone here today…"

"Wait a minute." Harukua interrupted in a somewhat urgent tone. "Isn't the S-Class for top levelled students? But, I am still a beginner…"

"We can't let you attend other classes since you knew too much about Satan. Unless, of course, if you prefer to have that part of your memories erased which I doubt Usagi-san will agree to it since it meant forgetting ever knowing the Aces." Yuzuru explained, eyeing on Usagi who was smiling back at him with a nod.

Haruka remained quiet, not wanting to lose his memories or be parted from his friends. He definitely didn't like being the team's weakest link, but he couldn't do much about this fact except to work harder, hoping to meet their levels one day.

"Don't worry, Tenoh-san." Yuzuru added, knowing his concerns. "The S-Class, unlike any other classes, have special modules and activities designed to meet your individual needs. Instead of worrying, you should be feeling lucky to be given such opportunity to boost up your level…"

"Lucky?" Taiki questioned suspiciously, drawing all attention to him. "I highly doubt it's that simple. May I clarify with you the school motive for this sudden class arrangement?"

Taiki folded his arms, staring at the vice-principal as he waited for a response. But, Yuzuru just smirk lightly, as if he was challenging the Aces genius to come up with the answer. Everyone watched as Taiki flipped through the hand-outs only to stop at the middle, asking, "Can I have the missing pages for Section 2.3? I believe it's the students' name list for the S-Class..."

Yuzuru chuckled, amazed by Taiki's ability to realize the key factor for having the Special Class. He conveniently reached for the brown folder buried between piles of papers, unwound it by its string and took out a sack documented profiles. He quietly handed it over to Taiki who immediately began browsing through the students' information. His eyes were seen widening with disbelief as he ran through the sheets, only to shoot up from his seat in the midst of his referencing; surprising everyone with his sudden large reaction.

"What is the school thinking?! You seriously allowed this… this…" He held the profiles up, unable to come up with an appropriate term for the student listed. "I am sure you know who they are. Are you trying to put all of us into danger here?!"

The meeting room was quiet for a second with everyone taken aback by Taiki unexpected outburst. It was not like him at all to be reacting so agitatedly and had everyone wondering what was in the name list that provoked his anger.

Concerned, Usagi was the first to approach Taiki, as she tried reaching for the documents in his hand. But, before her fingers could graze a touch on the papers, Taiki moved them out of her reach, as if he was trying to protect her from the dangerous documents.

Feeling very surprised, Usagi looked questionably at him, silently asking him 'what's wrong'.

Taiki could only bit his lips, finding his previous action ridiculous and childish. What's the point in hiding the piece of information from her? She will find out sooner or later. But, something inside him just didn't want her to look at the name list, not wanting to risk losing or putting her into any possible danger anymore.

But, what can he do now that the school had agreed to this?

Taiki knew very well that it was the principal's, Hayato Furinji, idea and decision; therefore, he couldn't do anything to go against the one person he respected the most, even though he couldn't understand the elder's motive for putting not only them, but the entire school into such predictable danger. As bright as he was, Taiki found it astonishingly hard to read the thoughts and actions of his great headmaster; after all, he is undefeated, in both powers and wits.

With all the thoughts running through his head, Taiki was caught off-guard when Seiya activated his PK energy, using it to seize the name list. Taiki felt the papers slipping away from his hand, but he made no attempt to fight back, knowing how pointless it was to be hiding such information from his friends.

The rest of the team quickly gathered around Seiya, as he flipped through the student's profiles.

"Verde Flamel… Viper Flamel… Kidd Diehl… Who are they?" Yuki asked, not remembering ever knowing such students in the academy. They must be new intakes then. But, wasn't the S-class meant only for the selected top few students? It was hard to believe that there were others as capable as the Aces. Then, his eyes widened with surprise at the photo and name of a particular profile; Len Mikki.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Seiya slamming Len's profile on the top of the table exclaimed. "This bastard almost got us killed! And instead of arresting him, the school is allowing him in?!"

"Cool down, Seiya-san…" Before Yuzuru could continued further, a piece of profile which slipped itself off the table caught everyone's attention.

It wrote: _Yuumei Furinji, _and attached next to her name was a passport-sized photo of a brunette who looked exactly like Usagi.

Almost everyone froze in disbelief at the sight of Yuumei's profile; with various questions pouring into their heads. Usagi, on the other hand, was surprisingly calm as she bent over and picked up the paper with a light smile.

"I guess it can't be helped neh, Yuumei?" Usagi murmured to herself. "After all, I was the one who broke our promise…"

"Usagi… Yuumei… she…" Taiki paused at his mid sentence, deciding not to question Usagi since she probably should be feeling as startled as everyone was right now. But to his surprise, she simply turned around and smiled her usual bright grin.

"Hai! Yuumei is joining our academy with the other Great Powers next semester." Usagi nodded casually.

"Wa-wait… Great Powers?" Haruka was the first to exclaim aloud. "Please don't tell me you are referring to Satan's…"

"She is." Taiki answered on behalf of Usagi. "Indeed, all the eight profiles here are the great descendents of Satan. No doubt, they are here for a reason or should I say Hayato-shifu has his motive for approving their registration…"

"I presume you've figured out Hayato-kouchou's intention then…" Yuzuru smirked while glimpsing at Taiki.

There was a pause of silence as everyone waited for Taiki's reply. The genius letting out a silent sigh glanced over to Seiya who had his vision down, apparently in a deep thought. He seemed to be awkwardly quiet, his stance no longer showing any interest to the topic anymore. What exactly was he thinking? Somehow, it seemed as if Seiya understood the headmaster's motive and was brainstorming over the concept.

"Hayato-shifu once taught us this: _Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer._" Taiki clarified. "I guess his intention is pretty obvious here, don't you agree, Seiya?"

Seiya turned his attention over to Taiki, but did not say anything for a second. He picked up the piece of document at which Usagi was glimpsing at; the profile of Zero Von Mammon.

"It doesn't matter…" Seiya declared in a deep cold voice, crushing Zero's profile into a crumb. "Whatever the motive, no one is going to take Usagi away… I'm never allowing it..."

"Seiya…" Usagi blushed lightly, feeling very surprised by Seiya's declaration. This was new to her, since she had never seen him retorting with such grim determination. She watched as he discarded the documents back to the vice-principal before he proceeded for the exit.

"Seiya, where are you going?" Usagi asked eagerly.

"For a walk…" Seiya simply replied, his hand reaching for the doorknob.

"But, the meeting hasn't ended yet…" Yaten sighed at his arrogance.

"Continue without me…" Seiya pulled the handle and took a step out. With no intention to close the door behind him, he uncaringly allowed the heavy access to shut by itself.

"What's up with him?" Haruka asked with a brow up.

While Taiki sighed at Seiya's attitude, Yuki and Yaten shrugged together.

"Gomen neh, minna! Please carry on without me…" With it, Usagi quickly exited the room, not giving anyone any opportunity to question her. But there was no doubt on where she was heading; to wherever Seiya was.

Taiki let out another sigh and apologized to the vice-principal, "Pardon them, they didn't meant to be rude… at least Usagi didn't…"

"Not a problem." Yuzuru grinned lightly as he gathered the documents back together. "If there's no question, I am calling the meeting off from here."

"Wait." Haruka voiced out. "You can't end here. How are we supposed to handle the Great Powers? Aren't you going to brief us about them?"

"You want me to brief you when I hardly know anything about them?" Yuzuru chuckled as he shook his head finding the matter ridiculous. "Honestly, today is the first day I get to know their names for real… If you want more information, I suggest you ask your little friend, Taiki. I'm sure he'll be able to tell you whatever you want to know about Satan."

All eyes instantly locked themselves to Taiki who was waving his hands in front of himself showing his objection. "If you think I know everything, you are wrong. I don't."

"Who are you kidding, Taiki?" Yuki added in disbelief. "Aren't you the one who hacked into Satan's database?"

"What if I had? That doesn't mean I was able to gather all the information about Satan and the Great Powers." Taiki argued back. "But, one thing is for certain, the Great Powers is a team of frightening existence… If it wasn't for Hayato-shifu, they would have taken over the entire academy."

"The Great Powers… Ar-are they really that powerful?" Yaten questioned, his eyes glued on the floor with a slight hint of angst. "Do you think they are capable of taking on one of the country top necromancer?"

"Yaten-sama…" Minako knew who Yaten was referring to; Rei Hino's uncle, her previous master, Kazuka Hino. Though Yaten did not bring the subject up till a second ago, Minako knew he was constantly worried about Kazuka's return. He hadn't been sleeping well for the past few weeks and the sound of the door chime frightened him. Unquestionably, his recent anxious state had caught his team concern, but it seemed like there was little they could do to help him. From what they knew, the proprietorship of Minako was legally documented and unless Kazuka was willing to give up the contract, there was nothing anyone can do to stop his right in claiming the Succubus back.

"I know what you are thinking, Yaten. But…" Taiki took a step front to Yaten and added in a serious voice. "…the Aces' capabilities are no less than the Great Powers'…"

Yaten slowly lifted his face to Taiki's and asked with a faint grin, "You sure the plan will work?"

"We'll see in an hour time…" Taiki smirked in confident.

"Plan?" Minako blinked while Haruka and Yuki looked at each other with uncertainties.

Watching the Aces as they were now, Yuzuru could only agree with Hayato's prediction.

"_Things are about to get interesting…"_

--

* * *

--

"Wait…Seiya!!"

Stopping his step, Seiya turned around, surprised to see Usagi chasing after him. "Odango…?'

Usagi stopped before him and grabbed onto his sleeve with one hand while placing the other on her waist. For a second, her face was down as she gasped for air. Catching her breath, her face finally shot up to Seiya's, "Ar-are… you alright?"

"Huh?" Seiya gave her a surprised look, not getting her question, but at the same time leaned towards her fretfully and stroked her back in attempt to soothe her panting. "I should be the one asking you that question. What are you doing? Running around like this…"

"I-I was chasing after you." Usagi declared after she took a deep breath. "You were so fast… I almost couldn't catch up with you. Are you in a hurry? Do you have something or someone important to attend to? At least tell me where you are going…"

"You chased after me just for this…"? Seiya asked in disbelief before smiling, almost laughing; obviously happy to know about Usagi's concern over him. Usagi, on the other hand, cocked her head to the side, not getting his sudden joyous expression. She didn't find anything humorous about her question. She was worried about him since he wasn't acting like his usual self recently. For some reasons, he was acting colder (at least not to her) than before, and would disappeared to somewhere only to return late for dinner while feeling all exhausted. Usagi was definitely not used to Seiya keeping secrets and distancing himself from her.

"Seiya… I am serious…" Usagi stressed, looking straight into his dim-blue eyes. "What's the matter? You have been acting strange lately. Are you caught up with something important?"

Her seriousness brought Seiya to stop his chuckling. He patted Usagi on her head, smiling calmly down at her, "You don't have to worry about me, Odango… I'm fine. I'm not seeing any one in particular. It's just that… there's a promise I need to keep… A promise that I made to myself…""

"Promise?"

Seiya smiled and nodded lightly. He then slowly lifted his hands, gazing at them with dissatisfaction. "This is still not enough. I need to become stronger… a lot stronger…"

"Seiya…" Usagi's eyes softened with sadness at his displease. She gently wrapped her fingers around both his hands as she directed them closer to her face, allowing her cheek to rest on them. A tear quietly escaped and slid down her cheek, landing itself onto the side of his fingers. This had Seiya panicking as worries began to contort up from within. Nothing frightened him more than her grief and he was ready to do anything to ease her tears.

"Od-odango? Is there something wrong? Have I done anything to upset you?" Seiya asked anxiously, but kept perfectly still since Usagi was still holding onto him.

Usagi sniffed as she shook her head quietly. Slowly, she released his hands before using the back of her hands to wipe her own tears. "It's not you… I don't know why either… The tears just came out…"

"Please don't cry..." Seiya pleaded as he placed his hands over her wet cheeks. His thumbs slid under her eyes, wiping her tears away. "I really prefer your smile. Tears just don't suit you at all…"

"I want you to keep smiling too…" Usagi admitted in a soft voice, her sniffs fading. "These days, you seemed troubled and upset… I-I just want you to be happy…"

"I am happy. As long as I am with you, I'll always be happy." Seiya emphasized in a gentle voice. "You are my joy, Usagi…"

Startled, Usagi looked up at him with bewildered eyes. Those words slipped out of his mouth so smoothly, and just by hearing them, it sent an unexplainable ecstasy through her veins. He didn't sound furious, nothing near to what he was back at the meeting room, and the serene smile that was imprinted on his face was enough to convince her into believing his words.

Though he hadn't told her much, she was satisfied to know that he wasn't upset with her. At that point of time, nothing else besides his heavenly smile mattered. The sunlight glinting off his dark hair only made him look more ethereal. If she hadn't known him for so long, she could have mistaken him for an angel. With such breathtaking charm, it had her wondering why he was even abandoned and feared in the first place. The society ought to be blind or something to have outcast this angel. But Usagi secretly thanks them. If it wasn't for their foolishness, she might not have met or get to be this close to him.

Watching him like this now radiated a spark through her body. It acted quickly as Usagi edged herself up on the tips of her toes, slipping her hands around his neck and locking them behind. Caught in surprise, Seiya allowed Usagi to pull him closer till their lips met with a light touch. She did not understand what compelled her into wanting to kiss him, maybe his beautiful smile, but after a second, when that feeling had passed, it left her feeling contented and warm all over.

Coming back to her senses, Usagi quickly withdrew herself but Seiya held her back in time by her waist. He cupped her chin in his fingers skilfully, pulling her lips back to his.

Unlike Usagi, Seiya wasn't contented by just a mere brush on the lips. He needed more, another kiss or two, maybe ten. Usagi just froze there, taken aback by his kiss and it didn't take her very long to realize that he was a good kisser. She shut her eyes, letting him ravished her lips with gentle kisses.

It almost seemed like they had intentionally ignored the world just for each other. Practically, every students and lecturers out at the moment had abandoned what they were previously doing to watch. Girls seated at the shelters stopped their gossiping, lecturers who were supposed to be rushing to their next class stopped their steps to stare, a couple of boys dropped their books at the intimate scene and cell phones were ringing but no one answered.

Silence of disbelief filled the air.

Such public display of affection wasn't supposed to be happening anywhere inside the school boundary, but no one made the initiative to stop them. Either it was due to shock or it was simply because no one dared to. Definitely no soul alive was stupid enough to disturb two of the state most feared beings especially when they were happily kissing.

After a few more minutes, they finally broke apart but Seiya kept his fingers intertwined behind her back. He smiled, watching Usagi's face light up with a scarlet taint as he planted a kiss on the tip of her nose. Usagi remained timidly quiet, not understanding why her heart was pounding at such a fast rate or the reason to her burning red face. It was this same, mysterious feeling that drawn her to him nine years ago.

What was this magical feeling called?

"Odango, there's something I've always wanted to tell you…" Seiya broke the silence in a whisper.

Surprised, Usagi looked up, meeting his eyes of sincerity. She cocked her head to the side, obviously having no clue to what he was about to say. It puzzled her more when she found a red taint of blush etched across his face as he took a deep breath; in the attempt to draw enough courage to confess something to her.

He couldn't deny this feeling that had been lingering in his heart all these years; he loved her. He was deeply in love with her. Before he met her, his life had no meaning, no purpose; nothing had meant as much to him as she did now. She had wiped away all his feeling of being unwanted and unneeded in a flash. Unintentionally, she had shown him the meaning of his own life and that someone did need him around. She was the one; ever since the first moment their eyes met, he was sure she was the one for him.

There was no point denying or hiding it anymore.

Taking a final breath, he placed his hands onto her shoulders and locked his eyes at hers as he finally began his confession, "Odango… I… I j-just wanted you to know that… I-I lov-…"

-Splash-

"Eh?" Usagi blinked, not getting why Seiya was drenched wet till she lifted her vision higher and saw Taiki holding an empty plastic bottle directing it down at Seiya.

"Sorry, my hand slipped." Taiki smirked, sounding anything but sorry.

"TAI-KI KOU!!" Seiya burst out, turning around and grabbing the genius by his collar with a deadly look. His eyes held burning flames in them as he raised his fist into the air, clenching his fingers together tightly. Taiki lifted his free hand, grabbing Seiya by his arm before his fist made contact to his face.

With it, Taiki lifted Seiya up and tossed him over his shoulder but instead of landing onto the concrete, Seiya levitated into the air before attacking Taiki straight down. The genius predicting the charge dodged the attack with a swift leap backward and the two fury young men continued their attack on each other.

Usagi was surprisingly calm over their battle, probably because she was used to seeing them fight for no apparent reason – she still didn't know she was always the main cause. She watched as a crowd started to form around them. The audiences that were initially quiet over their intimacy was now cheering on this fight. There were many reasons for their great interest. Guys wanted to see a real battle especially one involving two powerful beings, while the girls were fawning over their idols; they were secretly hoping that either Seiya or Taiki would be seriously injured so they could tend to them. But judging from their skilful dodge and defence, injuries did seem unlikely.

"Ahhh…" Yaten shook his head as he squeezed into the crowd with Minako, Haruka and Yuki. "They really started it…"

"Aren't you going to stop them, Yaten?" Haruka asked, a little worried that his two powerful friends might end up destroying the grand hallway.

"I have no interest to get in between their childish conflict." Yaten answered simply.

"But we have to get passed them to attend our next class, don't we?" Minako pointed out.

"Sadly, you are right. We can't ignore them then." Yaten sighed and glimpsed at Yuki. "Hey Yuki, can you try separating them with your ice shield?"

"And, why should I?" Yuki asked, folding his arms in displeased.

"Because I don't want any of my minions to suffer…" Yaten replied casually.

"I don't wish to be late for class either." Haruka eyeing at his watch added.

Yuki let out a soft sigh and thought for a second. He didn't want to waste anymore time standing in the open and watching his friends fight but he doubt his shield was strong enough to stop their vicious battle.

"I'll try, but I doubt it will work." Yuki extended his right hand out and murmured strange words under his breath.

A moment later, a huge block of ice emerged in the midst of the air, separating the two boys and shocking the audiences. For a second, Seiya and Taiki just stared at the massive ice wall before smirking mysteriously. Then, the two boys were seen leaping together as they extended their fists out to the ice block, crushing the cold barrier into shattered pieces within a blink of an eye. Ignoring all the shocking looks, they continued their fight.

"See, I told you it's not going to work…" Yuki shook his head as he observed a group of disciplines from the student council heading through the crowd. They were called in to stop the conflict as none of the lecturers or discipline teachers were available at that moment. The group of student councillors stood several feet away from the battle ground, waiting for an instruction from their president, Mamoru Chiba.

But to everyone surprise, Mamoru simply walked into the fight scene and bravely stepped in between Seiya and Taiki. He raised both of his hands saying, "Seiya Kou, Taiki Kou… The two of you should know the school rule… no fighting in the hall-…"

-Bash-

"waaaaaayyyyyyy…" the echo of his unfinished sentence was heard flying out of the scene along with his body.

"Who are you to command us?" Seiya and Taiki said together before returning their attention back to each other.

"That was stupid…" Yaten placed his hand low over his forehead commented.

"I think we ought to call the teachers to stop them." Minako suggested.

"No use. They are not afraid of any Sensei…" Yuki added thoughtfully.

"But, but… we can't possibly allow them to continue fighting in school!" Minako squealed.

"Don't worry, Minako. This fight is going to end soon…" Yaten told her with a pleasant smile. He pointed his thumb over to Usagi who was happily chatting over her cell phone.

A second later, she was seen waving her cell over to the two boys and shouting, "Seiya, Taiki! The vice-principal wants me to pass a message to you! He said Sofu might be returning to the academy any minute now, and he will give you hell if the both of you continue fighting!!"

Instantly, the two boys froze their fists in the midst of the air. No doubt, the one and only person Seiya and Taiki were frightened of was Hayato Furinji. They definitely didn't need reminders to how terrifying their headmaster actually was since the mention of his name was enough to send shivers down their spines.

"Continue later…" Seiya mumbled to Taiki.

"Agreed…" Taiki nodded.

"That was effective." Haruka commented out of amazement.

"Wow, Taiki! Your prediction was right. We do have visitors today…" Usagi walking over to Seiya and Taiki added cheerily. "Yuzuru-san wants us to return home since a necromancer called Hino-_something_ is here to meet Yaten and Minako."

Yaten's eyes instantly widened with a slight hint of horror at Usagi's announcement. On the other hand, Minako shivered out of fear of separation from Yaten. She definitely didn't want to return back to her unknown master whom she hardly had any recollection of. Feeling her fright, Yaten thoughtfully locked her hand in his, a silent reminder to her that he wasn't allowing any men to take her away from him. His tight hold had Minako feeling less pressured as she leaned closer to him, ignoring all the hateful glares which were targeted on her.

Did Taiki really managed to come up with a plan to secure her place in the Aces? But, judging from the timeframe, it certainly sounded rather impossible. Though, she knew that her team was up to something for the past few weeks, especially Taiki and Yaten, she wasn't certain about the issue that they were busy with. Despite so, the big smile imprinted on Usagi's face was enough to ease her worries as she followed her friends' lead out of the academy.

--

* * *

--

At the gate of the Aces district parked a row of black and white vehicles. Guards dressed in black stationed themselves around the estate; looking out for any possible assassination or suspicious beings that may harm their master who are currently inside the mansion.

However, none of them were aware of the two mysterious silhouettes situated on the top of a large tree.

"My target… inside…" a little girl hugging onto a black coffin-shaped, violin case said.

"What's his name again?" a teenage with bright orange hair asked impatiently.

The girl searched through her pocket and took out a crumple piece of document and stared at the name of her target. "Ka…Ka… Zu Hi… no… Bad writing…"

"Pass it to me, Hotaru." the boy sighed and took the piece of paper from the little brunette. He glanced at the crushed photo of a middle-aged man, ignoring the other written information due to the bad handwriting. "Too easy. Let's go in and finish him."

"Wait… Kyo…" Hotaru reached out and pulled his sleeve. She pointed at the mansion, "Yuumei-sama said Aces district… Akatsuki-sama is inside… No hurt Akatsuki-sama…"

For a second, Kyo just froze there; taken aback by their current location. Among the Great Powers, Kyo usually was the one who paid little attention to the details and could not be bothered to research through his targets or missions beforehand. Was there a need to when he was powerful enough to take down an entire military without even breaking a sweat? Unquestionably, this was why he always accomplished his operation faster than the other descendents.

Frankly, Kyo cared less about the Aces but he did not wish to get engage into a conflict with Usagi. She, along with Yuumei and Zero were the last few people on earth he would want to mess with. Furthermore, after Len's incident, they were told by Saiga and the Youkou to cease all form of attack on the Aces.

"I hate waiting… Leave me out of this stupid mission." Kyo stated in irritation before disappearing from his stance leaving Hotaru alone as she quietly await her prey.

Hugging her violin case even tighter, she mysteriously smiled, _"Hehe... Which piece should I play for his funeral?"_

--

* * *

--

"I see you haven't make up your mind yet, Yaten-san." Kuzuka concluded, eyeing on Yaten who was possessively hugging Minako close inside him.

"Either you come back to us and marry Rei or give that filthy succubus back to Kuzuka-san. You have no other choice, son." His mother, Kumiko asserted with a cruel glint in her eyes. She was confident about getting their family heir back today for she knew that Yaten will never give up on Minako for anything, not even his freedom.

Rei was seen scowling behind her uncle, clearly not pleased with her fiancé showing such intimacy towards a mere succubus. She kept her fists behind her back, refraining herself from rushing forward and ripping them apart. Now that she had her uncle by her side, she knew she had the advantage over the Aces.

On the other side stood Yuki with a worried Tohru, Haruka had situated himself in front of Yaten and Minako to prevent anyone from closing in at them while Usagi was seated in the middle of Seiya and Taiki. She seemed to find the whole issue boring as her eyes wandered about the room, eyeing at the various guards and wondering why every one of them looked very much alike.

Seiya was tapping his fingers on the table, showing his impatience. He didn't seem to be very pleased to have so many strangers intruding into his home and was trying to hold back his flare from their consistence threatening on his friend. He stole a glimpse at Taiki who, as usual, looked calm and compose with a neat smile etched across his face; certainly, not giving any of his thoughts away. If Yaten hadn't broken the silence, Seiya swore he would have rip that fake grin off Taiki's face.

"I said before and I will say it again." Yaten affirmed aloud in a serious tone. "I'm not going to marry Rei Hino, not returning to the Kou's, and I'm not letting Minako go!"

Kumiko's jaw dropped at the sound of his defiance. Threats of all sort formed in her head, but she managed to keep silent and allowed Kazuka to speak.

"I am very disappointed, Yaten-san." Kazuka shook his head in disapproval. "I thought I was called in today because you have finally made up your mind to marry my niece… My, my… I got no choice but to take back my Succubus then."

"I'm not letting you!" Yaten shouted across, hugging Minako with all his might. He had prepared himself well for today, and for the sake of Minako, he held no fear to fight anyone, not even one of the state top necromancers.

"How silly." Kazuka commented in a smirk. "Do you think you are capable of winning an elite-levelled necromancer like me? Besides, there's no need for me to even do much. As long as I have the seal of that Succubus, I can control her whenever I want and she will be given no choice but to obey me."

He held up the succubus' seal; a rolled up scroll containing the contract and command to the control of Minako.

"I'm taking that seal." Yaten glaring at Kazuka announced as he began chanting strange words in a murmur. Immediately, a big magic circle appeared within his radius…

Kazuka shot up as he uncoiled the scroll, ready to use Minako against him.

"Enough! No one move!"

The psychic casters stopped their summons and shifted their attention to Seiya, who stood up with a deadly look. He glared at Kazuka and warned in a stern voice, "Destroy my house and I will not hesitate to eradicate your existence."

His austerity brought Kazuka to sit back down and Yaten to refrain his attack. While it was never wise to anger the Nemesis, disobeying him when he was incensed was a lot worse. Usagi pouted, feeling displeased over whatever that enraged Seiya. She reached out and grasped onto his hand. And, as expected, he immediately dropped his anger upon feeling her touch. The couple exchanged smiles as Taiki let out a soft cough, drawing their attention back to him.

"Please don't be mistaken, Kazuka-san, Aunt Kumiko." Taiki began, ignoring Seiya's glare. "The reason why I called you here today was not because we have given up on Minako or Yaten. Instead, you are called in for your own safety, Kazuka-san."

"My safety? What nonsense are you trying to imply here?"

"Nonsense? Are you pretending not to know or you really don't? And I don't see why there is a need for you to summon a whole troop of bodyguards if you aren't concern about your safety." Taiki grinned, shaking his head at his awful act. "You are being pursued by Satan, aren't you? I guess it must be really hard working for the Youkou then..."

Almost everyone dropped their jaws upon hearing such an outrageous proclaim. Cold sweat dripped off Kazuka's forehead as he swallowed hard in disbelief. How? How did he know about his association with the Yonkou? For a decade, he told no soul about his undisclosed connection with Satan; no one could or should know. Yet, here he was, trapped in a helpless state as Taiki mercilessly spilt out his secrets.

"Thanks to the Yonkou, you became an elite-levelled." Taiki continued in ease, having no intention to hold back what he knew. "However, born with no talent, you failed your missions every so often. I can understand their irritations and regrets to grant their powers to such a worthless piece of trash like you."

"Ouch! That's hurtful." Yuki commented while Usagi giggled at Taiki's arrogance; he sure knew how to attack his opponents mentally with such spiteful words.

"Failure should just die." Taiki finished off with an evil grin. "I'm sure they want you dead now."

"Shut up!! Shut up!! I'm not here to listen to your insult!!" This had Kazuka losing all his composure as he shot straight up, slamming the table with his bare hands, "So what's the big deal?! Do you think I will let my Succubus go just because you knew everything?!"

"Of course not." Taiki replied casually. "But your life might be spared, if you are willing to pass the succubus seal over to Yaten."

"What do you mean by this?!" Kazuka demanded.

"Don't listen to him, Uncle Kazuka. It got to be some sort of a scam!" Rei scowled.

"You consider this a scam?"

All heads turned toward the glowing, golden scroll in Taiki's hand. Kazuka's widened his eyes another time, extremely shocked and amazed to find himself facing a sacred treasure; The Imperial Scroll of Muromachi.

"How… Why… Why is the Imperial Scroll of Muromachi with you?!" Kazuka inquired, his face showing great desperation. Indeed, it came as a great shock for the necromancer. He and his team, under the command from the Youkou, spent extensive years and sleepless nights searching for the location of the sacred scroll. Of course, as the years passed, he consistently failed to return back with the treasure which only irritated the "Four Emperors" of Satan who despised weaklings and failures. Kazuka understood that only death awaits him if he continued failing his mission.

"Yaten and I had worked hard for these past weeks to obtain it." Taiki explained briefly, not giving the poor man a clue to where or how he had obtained the sacred treasure.

Kazuka shook his head in disbelief. Did he hear him right? Did he just say weeks? It was impossible, totally ridiculous! How was it even possible for them to locate the imperial scroll in just weeks when he couldn't even do so despite his years of effort? It must be a fraud! Yes, it got to be!

"No, it isn't…" Taiki answered with a grin as if he could see through Kazuka's thought. "For decades, the Youkou have been searching through the world for all sort of legendary objects and treasures to add into their collection. This, the Imperial Scroll of Muromachi, a sacred piece of script that allowed whoever that open it the chance to travel back in time to the Muromachi period is no doubt on their wanted list. I'm sure they will be very pleased to have it into their collection."

--

"_Muromachi period also know as the Muromachi era is a division of Japanese history running approximately 1336 to 1573. According to Japanese mythology, the magical creature, Tamamo-no-mae (lit. the beautiful fox witch), an evil two-tailed fox that took the figure of a beautiful lady was said to have existed through the Muromachi era. It was presumed that the Youkou sought the Imperial Scroll of Muromachi with the motive to obtain the this renowned kitsune." - Story fact._

--

"What do you want?" Kazuka asked, his eyes not leaving the imperial scroll.

"Shall we have a trade then?" Taiki offered. "Minako's seal for the Imperial Scroll of Muromachi."

"What?! You are actually trading this legendary treasure for an unworthy Succubus seal?" Kazuka exclaimed in disbelief. Rei and Kumiko could not close their jaws at Taiki's offer. It does sound very ridiculous to know that the Aces considered Minako as more essential than the Imperial Muromachi Scroll.

"Minako is not unworthy!" Yaten half-yelled back as he tried to refrain himself from punching Kazuka in the face for insulting Minako.

"Ya!" Usagi shot up, agreeing with Yaten. "Minako is our friend! She's very important to us."

Minako smiled a light grin, secretly feeling happy over her friends defending her.

"Whatever. Just take the worthless Succubus seal and hand me the Imperial Scroll…" Kazuka snarled, ignoring Rei's protest and tossing Minako's contract over to Taiki. Catching it with his free hand, Taiki uncoiled and confirmed that the seal was the genuine piece before handing it over to Yaten.

"Now, hand me the Imperial Scroll of Muromachi." Kazuka demanded.

It was then when Taiki finally realized that the sacred treasure was no longer in his possession but in the hands of Usagi as she started examining it; admiring its glow and feeling it's texture.

"So, this was the reason why you were busy lately?" Usagi asked Seiya as she swayed the scroll about recklessly. For a second, everyone except Seiya just held their breath at her uncaring behaviour on handling the sacred object.

"Not really." Seiya replied shortly, still unwilling tell her what he was preoccupied with.

Usagi pouted, feeling unsatisfied that she hadn't solved the mystery. Then before anyone could ask the scroll back from her, a gunshot broke out from outside, shocking everyone silent. When the second gunshot ripped the silence, Usagi let out a soft shriek before reaching her hands up to cover her ears.

"Usagi! The Scroll…!"

From the corner of her eyes, Usagi watched helplessly as the golden scroll slipped from her hand. She desperately reached out for the falling object, but instead of grabbing onto it as a whole, her fingers grasped onto its string. Pulling it against gravity, the string came undone as the glowing scroll uncoiled itself in the air.

Instantly, a burst of yellow light escaped from the scroll, blinding everyone in the room followed by a powerful force evolving its way around Usagi.

"SEIYA…! TAIKI…!" Usagi shrieked, not understanding all that was going on around her. Though she could hear response from her friends, the excessive light blinded her vision and prevented her from knowing their location. She was more than surprise when she felt two pairs of arms embracing her a second later.

"_Seiya… Taiki…"_

Recognizing their warmth, she grasped onto the person on her right, who she figured was Seiya, before shutting her eyes tight and allowing the force to draw them into an unknown dimension.

--

The sound of rapid footsteps and horse trotting woke Usagi. She lifted her heavy eyelids and found herself staring straight up at the clear blue sky. It was not until a gentle breeze blew passed her was she able to tell that she was actually in the open. She tried sitting up but found her body restrained by the weight of two arms. Her eyes followed the arms to the two familiar young men hugging her.

"Seiya…, Seiya…, Taiki…" She breathed their names, shaking them individually.

After a minute of rapid calling and shaking, Seiya finally opened his eyes and stared at Usagi until the sign of sleep faded from his face.

"Odango…?" He pushed himself up into a sitting position still in a daze.

"Seiya! You are awake!" Usagi smiled a grin of relief before turning back to Taiki as she continued shaking him.

"Taiki…! Taiki! Wake up!" Usagi called louder and louder.

She beamed much to her relief when he finally lifted his lids and smiled back at her, but was caught by surprise when he locked his arms around her and trapped her down in a lying position in his arms.

"Eh?! Taiki…" Usagi blinked, seeing as she was now unable to move. He had her hands pressed against his chest, and his arms locked around her waist. He let out a sigh, obviously contented with the tranquillity.

"Just for a second…" Taiki grinned, hugging Usagi even tighter.

"Your second is up!" A black silhouette appeared from behind the couple and reached out for Usagi, pulling her away from Taiki's embrace. "Give Odango back!"

Usagi remained perfectly still as she stayed intact in Seiya's arms while listening to her friends argument. In the crook of his arms, she glimpsed as a brown bird flew down and landed on the grassy field a few feet away from them.

Then it finally hit her…

"Un-no… Where are we, actually?" She questioned, interrupting their argument.

The two boys stopped their conflict and stared at each other for a second before shifting their attention to their surrounding. They found themselves in an open field, surrounded by tall green bushes and trees. The noise of human chattering and moving carriage could be heard close by as the three curious teenagers peeped out from behind the thick bushes.

To their astonishment, they found themselves staring at an age-old setting. The landscape with no signs of technology was conquered with old Japanese buildings. The busy street was separated by two rows of wooden and stone housing with low ceilings, while at the far end set a majestic Japanese castle that seemed a mountain tall. All men were dressed in hakama while women were in their kimonos or yukatas. In the absent of automobile, transportation was either carried by horses or by two human carriers.

"This is…" The three teenagers stepped out from behind the bushes in bewilderment. "…Ancient Japan…"

"The Muromachi Period."

--

* * *

--

_Credit: Kyo from Fruit Basket._


	17. Trapped Back in Time

--

Last Chapter:

_To their astonishment, they found themselves staring at an age-old setting. The landscape with no signs of technology was conquered with old Japanese buildings. The busy street was separated by two rows of wooden and stone housing with low ceilings, while at the far end set a majestic Japanese castle that seemed a mountain tall. All men were dressed in hakama while women were in their kimonos or yukatas. In the absent of automobile, transportation was either carried by horses or by two human carriers._

"_This is…" The three teenagers stepped out from behind the bushes in bewilderment. "…Ancient Japan…"_

"_The Muromachi Period."_

--

* * *

--

**Trapped Back in Time**

--

Commoners gathered in a crowd as they observed a Go (board game) match being played by two gamblers.

--

"_Go is a strategic board game played by two players alternately placing black and white stones on vacant intersection of a 19 x 19 grid board. The objective of the game is to control a larger part of the board than the opponent. Players strive to serve both defensive and offensive purposes and choose between tactical urgency and strategic plans. The game ends, and the score is counted when both players consecutively pass on a turn, indicating that neither side can increase its territory or reduce its opponent." – Fact._

--

The left player was an older gentleman who was seen ceasing his forehead stressfully. He peered at the Go board for the last time before looking up at his young opponent and bowing in defeat.

"I resign." He admitted before handing the stake, a few copper coins, over to his challenger.

"Thank you for the game." The younger player grinned casually as he took the coins over. It was noticed that his expression of calmness remained unchanged throughout his 19 straight wins, and unlike the crowd, he and his two companions wore strange clothing which was another reason why they were the centre of attention.

"Yeah! Taiki! Another easy win!" The blonde at his right cheered happily.

"Yes. We should have enough money now to get you a nice kimono, Usagi." Taiki smiled pleasantly at her.

"But, do we have enough to get ourselves a room for tonight?" The charming brunet at his left asked expressionlessly.

"It shouldn't be a problem." Taiki replied shortly as he got up from his seat. He glimpsed much to his exasperation the amount of crowd they had drawn around them due to his brilliant game play and their _'weird'_ attires.

Now that they were trapped back in time, being penniless served as a huge problem for the three youngsters. To get enough money for clothing (so as to blend in to their surrounding) was one issue while food and shelters were another. Thus, it was concluded by Taiki that the fastest way to earn enough cash for all their necessities was by gambling. With such gifted wits, he needed no luck to win any tactical game which made earning seemed like a breeze.

"Excuse me…" Usagi muttered as she tried to squeeze through the crowd.

But no one would budge as the three of them remained surrounded by a group of citizens. Whispers were everywhere and apparently the topics were about them. Men were drooling over Usagi seemingly because she was wearing a mini-skirt though she was totally oblivious about it. In that era, it wasn't common to see a young beauty wearing such short skirt that revealed more than half of her legs, unless she was a prostitute. This brought all the men gawking over her as they tried squatting down so as to catch a glimpse of her underwear.

Then, a strong invisible gush of force sent all the men flying back and hitting the walls. They groaned in pain not getting what had just strike them. Then, as they looked up, they were hit back by fear at Seiya's angry cold glare.

"Do you want me to blind you next?" They heard his low growl.

"I agree that they should all be dead, but let's not cause anymore commotion, shall we?" Taiki glared angrily at the surrounding men for a second longer before taking off his jacket and strapping it around Usagi's waist so as to cover her legs.

Usagi blinked, not understanding his action. But before she could question Taiki, she found herself being hoisted up into his arms.

"Eh? Taiki… I can walk by myself. Put me down!" Usagi squealed and struggled, but his grip just seemed to tighten as she tried to squirm in his arms.

"Not until I get you a kimono." Taiki persisted with a gentle smile.

"Give Odango back!" Seiya demanded as he tried reaching out for Usagi but Taiki simply yanked her away from his reach.

Then, before the two boys could start their usual conflict, a loud voice calling out to them caught their attention. They turned only to see a young man dressed in a formal type of hakama approaching them. He was accompanied by four older men who were most probably his hired bodyguards. Most of the citizens in the gamble house flinched in panic as if they had just encountered a bully.

"What now?" Both Seiya and Taiki breathed out in irritation.

There was one thing the two of them could agree on now, and that was how terribly tired and annoyed they were both feeling at that moment. None of them had eaten anything in hours and all the walking and brainstorming were enough to wear their bodies out. At this point, neither Seiya nor Taiki had much self-control left. Both of them were muttering different ways to murder this man, whoever he was, if he was to try anything funny.

"So, the three of you must be the strange foreigners that everyone was talking about." The man held his face high up, looking at them as if they were some low commoners.

"Give Odango back to me." Seiya ignoring the cocky man insisted in a tired tone.

"She's _mine_ now." Taiki refused with a grin of defiance as the two boys continued their arguments with Usagi trying to stop them from between.

"Don't ignore me!" The man yelled at their ill-mannered behaviour. "Do you know who I am? I am the Koji Shu, the son of General Kentaro! None of you have the right to ignore me!"

"General who?" Usagi cocked her head slightly. Though she didn't mean to be rude, it did sound like an insult which made Seiya and Taiki giggled at her response.

"Good one, Usagi." Taiki praised her with a smile and looked uninterestedly at Koji. "We have no interest to know you or your father. So, will you just move aside and stop blocking the entrance?"

Koji's jaw dropped at their offensive manners. Besides his father, never in his life had he encountered anyone who dared talk back to him like how they just did. He raised his hand at them, extending a shaky finger toward them. "You… You dare insult the supreme Shu's family! Men, seize them!"

His four bodyguards immediately withdrew their swords and began to charge in at Taiki but Seiya simply stepped in, keeping himself between his friends and the attackers. He smirked as he extended his right hand out at them, activating his PK energy and sending the four guards flying out of the entrance instantly.

Expression of shock and confusion were on the faces of many. For a moment, everyone just remained at their position in deep silence as they tried to figure out what had just happened. Seconds later, most of them were seen running out of the gambling house in fright.

"Don't, don't come near me…" Koji tried backing away.

But as Seiya got closer, Koji could feel his legs weakening, causing him to drop onto his bottom.

He looked up nervously meeting Seiya's deadly cold glare.

"Move it." Seiya commanded, looking sternly down at the trembling man.

"AHHH!! Mon-Monster!!" Koji cried as he crawled and disappeared into the open.

"Seiya is no monster!" Usagi yelled at Koji despite he was already out of her sight. She then watched as the house owner went down on his knees, begging them to leave and never to drop by his gambling ground again since they had offended the Shu family.

Taiki sighed tiredly. Judging from the commotion they had just created, he could foresee now that no citizen would be willing to accept them into their lodges or sell any necessities to them. What a headache. There was definitely no need to make their life any more difficult than it was now. If only they could find a way into the Heian Palace and get hold of the Imperial scroll of Muromachi, maybe then, they might be able to return back to their time. But from the looks of it, they seemed to be facing difficulties in affairs apart from getting into the palace. This would only meant that they will have to stay in the Muromachi era for a while longer.

--

* * *

--

Yaten slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in a place that he hadn't been in for a long time.

It was the old prison cell; his room back in the Kou's family.

He tried to move, but found his legs and arms chained to the bed post by a thick, three foot long chain. He yanked his wrist, scraping the chain against the wooden pole and making a loud screeching noise.

"_Why am I back here?! What the hell is happening?"_ Yaten screamed in his thought.

He pulled harder, but the chain held, tugged back at his arms. From the looks of it, he knew that it was not an ordinary lock, but an anti-magic shackle that placed a silence to all psychical and magical power. It was useless. There was no way he could escape now when he couldn't even enforce his shaman ability.

He stopped struggling and looked around helplessly for a moment, noticing the thick metal rods that were placed on the outside of his windows. They were about an inch apart from the next. Then, he spotted a pair of guards peeking into his room through the tiny opening of the door that had several bolts and locks.

He heard them greeting someone before the door finally swung opened widely, and a path of light from the bright hallway lit the dark room. For a second, Yaten was blinded after having sat in the darkness for so long. And when he finally got used to the brightness, he found his parents, along with Rei approaching him with a cruel glint in their eyes.

Yaten glared at them coldly, jerking the chains forward with the intention to break free and attack them.

"Why the resistance? Don't you remember your room, son?" His mother, Kumiko, asked with a smirk.

"Why am I back here? What have you done to my friends and Minako?!" Yaten ignoring her question yelled.

"Nothing in particular." Kumiko replied as she sat down on the empty spot of the bed, next to her son. "We just sent everyone back to where they truly belonged. Now, everyone will be happy with the Aces gone."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Yaten demanded.

"You better get the situation right, son." His father explained. "Your three monstrous friends who have always been protecting you can't defend you any longer. The great Kazuka Hino had managed to trap them inside the Imperial Scroll of Muromachi. How wonderful, isn't it? As for your stepbrother, Yuki, we've sent him back to the Sohma's family along with the lowly maid of his. And, you don't have to worry about that filthy Succubus. She is now in the good hands of her true master and is learning the tactics of becoming a proper Succubus…"

"YOU BASTARDS!! What have you done to Minako?! What have you done to my friends?! Give them back to me!! Give them back!!" Yaten yelled at the top of his voice as he furiously tried to charge front but was pulled back by the lock of chain.

-SMACK!-

His father slapped him across the face. Yaten's face jerked to the left, driven by the strong force of the blow. Blood was seen dripping off from the corner of his lips and his cheek was red and swollen. The room grew extremely quiet as Yaten continued to sit there with his face downcast towards the bed. Kumiko and Rei dropped their jaws at the assault and everyone outside of the room froze too. The crack of the slap had been heard throughout the mansion.

Slowly, Yaten touched his burning cheek with his fingers and felt the pain streaming over his body.

"We are your parents! How dare you show such disrespect?!" His father shouted, pointing his index at Yaten.

Yaten didn't response and continued staring at the bed hopelessly. This was ridiculous. He was mentally laughing at his own pathetic self. What is this? He had actually lost all of his freedom, friends, and lover in just one single day. To make matter worse, he was currently trapped inside this inescapable cell with people he would rather die than be with. What other choices does he have now besides obeying them? There was no use in defying them anymore. This was his punishment for going against fate.

"Hayoku-darling, you have gone a little too far. Despite his ill-manner, he is still our important heir. What's more, we still need to present him to the Hino's for the wedding arrangement. It won't be very nice if our adorable son turned up with a swollen face, will it?" Kumiko convinced her husband.

Yaten's face immediately shot up at the mentioned of the word 'wedding', and found himself meeting Rei in the eyes.

"Yaten dear, are you alright?" Rei asked in an act of concern as she held up her handkerchief and directed it towards his cheek. "What a pity. Your beautiful face is now badly swelled. You are even bleeding. Here, let me clean it for you…"

"No! Get away from me!" Yaten slapped her hand and backed away from her.

His eyes held fear and he could feel his own shivers now. He pressed himself as far back as he could until his back was squeezing against the back of the bed wall. He was undergoing the procedure of a mental breakdown. Neither his body nor mind could deny the fear he held for the people smirking cruelly down at him now. He was powerless. He couldn't defy them, not with his lover trapped under their custody. The only way he can save Minako from further harm was to obey them and this needed obedience scared him, since it reminded him of his horrible past without the taste of freedom.

"Yaten dear, you don't have to worry about that Succubus. Uncle will let no man touch her as long as you agree to marry and be faithful to me." Rei told him intentionally. "But, if you choose to go against me, she will have a lot to do as a Succubus…"

"No, please don't…"

Yaten stopped at the mid sentence when he felt Rei pressing her lips against his, catching him by surprise. He quickly pushed her away and wiped his lips with the back of his hand, feeling terribly disgusted by the kiss. Now, not only did his cheek hurt, but his lips tasted foul and awful enough to make him feel like throwing up.

"Aww… isn't that sweet." Kumiko commented on the kiss, ignoring the appalled look on her son's face.

They went on with the discussion about the marriage arrangement among themselves before Rei suggested on leaving so as to prepare dinner for her new family.

"I'll be preparing your favourite dishes tonight, so I hope you will like it, my soon-to-be husband." Rei declared as she followed his parents to the door.

Her giggles were the last thing Yaten heard before the door closed on him and he was left there alone.

"This is ridiculous…" Yaten murmured to himself and chuckled disbelievingly at the thought of marrying someone else other than Minako.

He dropped back down onto the bed and shut his eyes as his brain began running through the images of his friends and lover. Were they gone? Were the Aces really gone? He couldn't bring himself to believe that all their effort and struggle to remain together would just end like this. He knew he shouldn't give up. If he did, who was to save Minako and his friends? For the next hours, Yaten came up with several escape plans, but they all just seemed to be unworkable without an assistant in the end. And clearly, he knew no one, besides Usagi, Seiya, and Taiki, who was silly and powerful enough to be coming over and rescuing him from this prison.

It was indeed a hopeless case. At least that was what he thought…

--

* * *

--

"Who would have thought that we could stumble into an open-air hot spring after being chased out of the village?" Seiya commented as he wringed the excess water from his shirt after washing it at the lake that was directly opposite to the hot spring in which Usagi was bathing in.

"But, we have no luck when it comes to getting out of here." Taiki sighed as he laid his wet top on the grass for the sun to dry it off completely.

"I hope Yaten and the others are not having too much of a rough time back there." Seiya settling down onto a piece of huge rock muttered out of concern for his friends.

"It can't be helped." Taiki replied while getting up on his feet. "Neither the Kou nor the Hino family is going to let this opportunity slide. But, we obviously can't save them if we remain stuck here…"

"Can you please tell me something useful?" Seiya pointed out, feeling irritated by their current situation. As protective as he was as the team leader, he definitely didn't like the fact that he wasn't able to help his friends when they were in trouble.

"Like I've mentioned before, the only way we could get out here is to get into the Heian Palace and obtain the Imperial Scroll of Muromachi of this era. But, for the time being, we need to have enough energy to continue with our journey." Taiki explained as he made his way into the woods in search for some edible fruits. "And, don't try to peek at Usagi while I'm gone…"

"Don't associate me to a pervert like you!" Seiya shot up at Taiki's statement and dropped back down with a faint blush.

He shook his head animatedly, trying to stop himself from imagining the image of a nude Usagi bathing in the hot spring that was situated only a short distance away from him. Calming down, he glimpsed down at the lake and saw his own reflection against the calm water. He stared displeasingly at himself for a while longer before hitting the water with his hand, destroying his own reflection.

"Still not strong enough…" He muttered in discontentment as he dragged his wet hand through his hair, releasing it from the tie and letting it fall loose. A swift gust of wind blew by, drifting his long black locks along and drying the droplets that were dripping down from his neck to his bare chest.

Then, a familiar scream of fright coming from the hot spring caught his attention.

"Odango!"

Seiya immediately shot up and dashed front, squeezing his way through the bushes and tree branches that were blocking his path. "Odango, wha-…"

"SEIYA!! SNAKE!! SNAKE!!"

Seiya heard Usagi's loud scream coming his way but before he could respond to her cry, someone unexpectedly jumped out from the bushes, knocking him onto the grassy ground.

"Seiya!! Seiya!! Sna-… There's a snake near my clothes…!" Usagi shrieked, hugging dearly onto him while burying her face into his chest.

Seiya blinked, surprised to find Usagi embracing him in fright. But, it further shocked him when he felt something soft pressing against his bare torso. Looking down, he could feel his cheeks brightening up to an unusual degree at the sight before him. The girl he loved was actually lying nude on top of him? He wasn't sure whether he should be pointing it out to her. To be precise, he didn't even know how he should be reacting now.

After a few seconds of hearing no response from Seiya, Usagi finally looked up. Her long, golden locks curtained his side views, limiting his vision to her innocent stare. She blinked at him, not understanding the reason behind his pink stained face. Then, tracing the droplet of water that was dripping off from her hair, she finally glimpsed down at herself.

"YAHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Usagi released a piercing scream of embarrassment as she quickly pushed herself up and away from Seiya.

"Wa-wait, Odango! I'm…" Seiya sat up but stopped at the mid sentence, quickly looking away upon remembering that he wasn't suppose to be looking at her at the moment.

Awkwardness lingered in the air. Neither of them knew what to say at that point.

Hiding behind the nearest tree, Usagi was feeling too bashful for words as she hugged her bare body while looking embarrassingly down. No good. He must think she was a complete idiot or even a slut for running about undressed and knocking him over. What should she do now?

"You'll catch a cold if you stay like this. You should get dressed… I won't look…" Seiya promised, breaking the silence.

"But…" Usagi hesitated, popping her head out from behind the tree trunk. "I can't get my clothes with the snake…"

"Wher-where is it? I'll get it for you." Seiya offered, not looking back.

"It's near the entry of the hot spring…" Usagi directed shyly as she watched Seiya disappearing into the bushes.

She released a sigh and shivered as the wind brushed against her bare body. Compared to the tension she had created around him, her shivers was less of a problem now. She knew she got to stop her clingy behaviour since he must be feeling irritated with her already. But she couldn't help herself from wanting to be around him and to see his smile. It was a peculiar thing. When he was happy, she felt just as joyful; therefore, to notice his recent annoyance over an unknown matter only drove Usagi into wanting to cling onto him even more. She knew something was bothering him, but no matter how many times she asked, he would just shove it off with a smile, telling her not to worry about it. She was worried, no scratch about that. She was more than concern that something was bothering him and secretly feared that she was the cause behind his irritation.

"Here…" A familiar voice muttered, interrupting her train of thoughts.

Usagi spun around only to find an extended hand directing her clothes over to her. Though the young man had his back against her and his head down, she could immediately distinguish who he was.

"Thank you…" Usagi responded shyly, taking the uniform over from him.

"No problem." Seiya quickly replied before stepping away into the distance.

--

It has been a couple of hours since Usagi has last spoken to Seiya, and it didn't take Taiki very long to realize the awkward atmosphere lingering around them. He noticed their bright red faces whenever their eyes met and the embarrassed expressions each time they looked away. In addition, neither of them said much to him, only answering his questions. This was odd in a way, since they were talking less than usual.

"Usagi, is there something you're not telling me?" After they had found a tranquil place next to a light blue lake for the night, Taiki, who could tolerate their strange behaviour no further, finally asked.

Obviously, he didn't like the fact that they were hiding something from him. Mysteries and secrets were things he loved, but not one between Usagi and Seiya. He didn't like being treated like an outcast and, for someone as possessive as Taiki, watching their relationship grow into something more than friendship alone was unacceptable.

"Eh? What wouldn't I tell you?" Usagi asked, trying her best to control her shivers. Due to her anxiousness around Seiya, she hasn't noticed that her body temperate has risen above the normal level and she was experiencing a cold sensation.

"I don't know… Maybe something he has done to upset you?" Taiki guessed, gesturing his thumb over to Seiya who was busy setting up a campfire.

"Eh?! No, no!" Usagi protested aloud, waving her hands in front of herself.

This had caught Seiya's attention as he looked up to the direction where Taiki and Usagi were seated. As he did, Usagi glimpsed him staring and anxiously looked away with a light blush. She wrapped her arms around her knees and settled her chin on top of them, avoiding his stare.

"It's not Seiya's fault. It's me. I have done something really stupid… What should I do? I've made Seiya angry... He must think I am a nuisance now…"

Taiki was startled by her response. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her denseness. She was totally oblivious about her feelings for Seiya or his love for her, wasn't it? But her ignorance was one aspect why they found her adorable.

"Don't worry, there's absolutely no way Seiya would ever get angry at you or see you as a nuisance…" Taiki convinced confidently.

"How would you know when he hasn't even said a word to me for the past hours?" Usagi questioned.

"Are you forgetting something?" Taiki answered with a smile of assurance and patted her lightly on the head, hoping to ease her worries. "I am a genius. I know everything…"

Usagi giggled at his response and took his hand into hers much to his surprise. "Thank you, Taiki. I always feel so much better after talking to you."

She looked up and beamed at him, making Taiki blushed at her smile of appreciation. On the other hand, Seiya watched their intimacy with envy burning in his eyes. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he didn't like the fact that Usagi was holding onto Taiki's hand with such obvious happiness. She definitely wasn't smiling this happily when she held his hand the other day, instead, she was tearing. Why was it always Taiki who was able to draw such a beautiful smile to her face? While he, would always make her cry.

He tried telling himself repeatedly that Taiki was just a friend to Usagi, but the jealousy he felt refused to vanish. He didn't like how close Taiki was to her. In fact, he basically hated it. He didn't want her to be clinging onto anyone other than himself, but there wasn't much he could do about it especially after he had _violated_ her, at least that was what he thought. She had avoided making eyes contact with him and went to Taiki instead. There was no better way of showing that she was angry at him, though he couldn't blame her for it. Now, he could even picture Usagi ignoring him for the rest of their life and marrying Taiki.

He clenched his fists together, forcing himself to look away before he ran over and stole Usagi away from Taiki. But, his eyes couldn't turn away from the scene of Usagi collapsing onto Taiki's lap. He saw Taiki's face contorted with worry as he lifted his hand and touched her forehead while he repeatedly called out her name.

"Od-odango! What's wrong? Is she alright?" Seiya running toward the couple and dropping down before them asked worriedly.

"She's having a high fever." Taiki replied, looking as troubled as Seiya was.

"What?!" Seiya burst out, covering her forehead with his hand and noticing how very hot her skin felt against his cold palm. Her eyes were closed and she was respiring heavily through her mouth as if in pain. It was indeed a devastating sight for both Seiya and Taiki.

"She shouldn't be staying here in the open. We need to move her to a place where she can get proper medication." After wrapping Usagi up with his jacket, Taiki carried her up into his arms as the two boys hurried out of the forest in hope to seek for help.

--

* * *

--

"Iiyee…! Yaten-sama!!"

Minako yanked against Kazuka's grip, trying to free herself with no success. She was dragged down several hallways and down numerous stairs until she was in a dark, gloomy corridor. The dungeon looking structure had grey bricks for walls and fire torches were the only source that kept the place lit.

She could feel her heart thumping rapidly by the time they reached a barred section at the end of the hallway. Kazuka released his grip against her which caused her to fall roughly onto the cold floor. Then, two men whom she couldn't recognize lifted her to her feet and began dragging her towards the cell.

Once inside, she was uncaringly tossed to a corner. Minako didn't even bother to rub her bottom as she noticed Kazuka approaching her. She pressed her back against the wall and pulled her knees up against her body, making them a protective wall before her. She shut her eyes at the approaching men and quivered fearfully at her terrible fate ahead.

"Stop being naïve. Neither your precious Yaten nor your monstrous friends are going to save you from here." Kazuka grabbed onto her silky golden locks, yanking onto them viciously.

Minako could feel her scalp burn with pain and she winced. He continued peering at her while waiting for her response, but he had frightened all coherent thoughts out of her head.

"I can't believe that you are still a virgin. But, don't worry, my little Succubus. I am not an useless master like Yaten Kou who doesn't train you up to do the dirty works that you are born to be good at." Kazuka smirked evilly as he released her hair and shoved a white gown to her.

She stared at the nearly translucent gown, noticing that it was way too short and miniature in length to be considered as a proper dress code to be wore in public.

"Wear it for tomorrow night's dinner and serve my guests." Kazuka ordered.

"No…"

"What?!"

"No! No! I am not going to!! Let me out of here! I want to go back to Yaten-sama!" Minako cried.

The traumatized girl continued to shriek refusals until her master slapped her across her face. Minako blinked in shock before she felt tears stinging in her eyes while her body trembled as she wept.

"You are just a slut! You are in no position to be demanding for anything!" Kazuka yelled as he grabbed her by her hairs once again.

"Yaten-sama…" Minako called his name between her cries while shutting her eyes at Kazuka's glare.

"Shut up! Stop calling his name!" Kazuka slapped her the second time, but this time with a much greater force till it actually hit Minako unconscious.

Her falling body hit the floor with a thud and she just lay there motionlessly. None of the men in the cell made a move to check on her. Kuzaka just stood up agitatedly, furious by the fact that everyone favoured Yaten over him. As an elite necromancer, he was a level higher, but it was always Yaten Kou that gets all the attention and the praises. Even the Satan authority has their eyes set on him.

What unfairness!

Despite so, he considered himself really lucky that the power of the Imperial Scroll helped knocked Yaten and the others unconscious which provided them with the great opportunity to capture the talented shaman. Lady luck was definitely on his side. Not only has he avoided his death penalty by obtaining the Imperial Scroll of Muromachi, he even has the three most feared psychics captured inside. He simply can't wait to show off his achievement to his team tomorrow night or handed the Imperial Scroll over to the Yonkou for further rewards.

The man was heard laughing happily as he exited the room, leaving the neglected Succubus in the locked cell.

--

* * *

--

"Stop the carriage!" Seiya demanded, leaping and landing before a horse carriage.

The coachman stopped the horses abruptly, causing the horses to rear as they took a few steps back from the boy before them.

"What's happening here?" A woman with long, green hair popped her head out of the carriage's window asked impatiently. Her eyes widened in surprise at the two charming young men standing before her carriage. They were dressed in strange clothing, even for the girl whom one of them was carrying was fashioned weirdly.

"Please… She's terribly ill. Can you get us to the nearest clinic?" Taiki pleaded as he approached the woman.

The woman eyed at them oddly, switching her views from Seiya to Taiki and finally to the unconscious Usagi. She creased her forehead when she realized that they were the ones who offended the son of General Kentaro. There was no reason for her to be helping them then. Besides, no doctors in the village will dare to aid them after all the commotion they have created earlier. Then again, she was heading for the capital and thought their attractive looks might help her with her business in Kyoto.

"Get in." The woman offered.

Taiki gratefully slid in while clutching Usagi protectively in his arms.

"How is she?" Seiya asked worriedly after he got into the carriage.

Taiki simply shook his head, removing the wet cloth that he had previously placed against her forehead and realizing that it had now turned warm and dry from the excess heat. "Her temperature isn't going down."

Usagi continued to lie motionlessly in his arms. Her breathing was laboured and coming less frequently now. Taiki could tell her pulse weakening before he even placed his finger against her neck. This wasn't a good sign. From the looks of it, she seemed to have gotten the fever hours ago and was enduring it throughout their journey. Why hadn't he realized it earlier? Wasn't he her personal doctor? If only he hasn't trapped himself in his own jealousy and noticed her medical sign sooner, she might not have to suffer through all these.

"It's my fault…" Seiya claimed in distress, shocking Taiki as he turned his attention to his friend seated beside him. What? Why was he blaming himself for Usagi's present condition? He should be the one who was responsible, not Seiya.

"How was it your fault? You did nothing…" Taiki disagreed.

"No." Seiya shook his head remorsefully while looking down. "I was careless. I did something unforgivable… Odango is never going to forgive me now."

Taiki almost dropped his jaw at Seiya's proclamation. It sounded familiar, almost like what Usagi told him before she collapsed. What's with these two? Usagi thought Seiya was angry at her for god knows how she even came up with that perception while, on the other hand, Seiya assumed that she hated him for no apparent reason. What a coincidence. How can the both of them misunderstand one another's affection for hatred?

"How long more will it take us to reach the capital?" Seiya asked, his eyes remained locked to Usagi.

"Before sun rise…" The woman answered simply and added. "And, I assume that none of you can afford a physician to take care of her right?"

"We don't need a physician. I am a doctor, and I'll take care of her. We just need the appropriate medication and place to stay." Taiki replied instantly.

"You are a doctor? At such a young age?" The woman sat up in surprise as her eyes flew to Usagi whom Taiki was holding in his arms. "Your wife is pretty lucky to have you taking care of her then."

"She's not his wife!" Seiya snapped.

There was a moment of silence as the woman stared at Seiya in shock while Taiki chuckled at the proclamation.

"What's the condition?" Taiki turned serious, breaking the silence.

"Condition?" The woman repeated.

"The condition for helping us…" Taiki clarified, removing the woman's mask of sympathy. "You don't look like someone who is kind enough to be offering helpless strangers a ride or a place to stay. What ideas do you have in mind for helping us then?"

"My, my… This is not the way you should be speaking to someone who has agreed to help you. Despite your good looks, you will be unpopular among the ladies, if you continue speaking in this manner." The woman told him while shaking her head. "But, I praise you for your awareness. It's pretty bright of you to know that nothing comes free, especially in the city of Kyoto."

She changed her target to Seiya, sticking her face forward and grabbing onto his chin to examine his face, much to his surprise.

"Very charming…" She complimented with a satisfied smile. "Tell me, how many ladies have you deceive with this handsome face of yours?"

"Get away! What do you think you are doing?" Seiya demanded, slapping her fingers away.

"No, no. Not good." The woman shook her head at his impulsive attitude. "You are going to scare away all the clients with such nasty attitude."

"Clients? Don't tell me you…" Seiya questioned, frowning slightly at the next statement that she was about to say.

"Yes, I run a brothel in the akasen of Kyoto." The woman answered casually.

--

"_Akasen is the known as the Red-light District in Japanese, also commonly referred to the district of prostitutes." – Japanese translation._

--

"For the condition, you expect us to work as male prostitutes under your brothel?" Taiki questioned in a fake smile. Behind his grin, he was mentally cursing at the unexpected twist of event. The all powerful Aces are to resort to working as prostitutes for a living? What a joke! What nonsense!

"Or do you prefer that lovely lady over there to do the job for you?" The woman asked, eyeing at Usagi.

"Leave her out of this!" Seiya snapped sharply. "If you want someone to work in your brothel in exchange for her medical care and living, I'll do it! Just leave my friends out of this…"

"You know I will never agree to this…" Taiki told Seiya, staring seriously at him and showing his disagreement.

"We don't have a choice, do we? Odango's condition might get worse if we can't give her proper medication and care. Besides, she needs you to take care of her… not me…" Seiya insisted.

There was a hidden sadness behind his last sentence which only Taiki noticed. Knowing his friend's stubbornness, he knew that there was no way he could force Seiya to reconsider about taking up the job especially when Usagi's health was being placed into consideration. But, Taiki was clearly a protective friend who would not allow his companion to sacrifice his dignity to some nasty women.

"Sorry, but I've got a question, Miss…" Taiki hitched.

"Call me Setsuna…" The woman directed.

"Right… Setsuna-san, I presume that as long as we are able to bring in money for your business. It doesn't matter what we do as prostitutes, right?" Taiki added, smiling deceitfully.

"Besides having sex with our clients, what else can you do as a prostitute to make money?" Setsuna shrugged. "But yes. In this era, money is everything. Poor men sell their wives off to akasen and force them into prostitution, while rich women pay men to spend nights with them and those men are willing to drop their dignities for money. It's all so common now. And, to tell me that you are able to boost my business up without following their paths? I'm really interested to see how you can possibly achieve that."

"You heard that, Seiya?" Taiki nudged Seiya while still holding onto his smile.

"Ya." Seiya replied, folding his arms and closing his eyes, seemingly to be in a deep thought. This was much tougher than it seemed. He couldn't even please the girl that he loved, let alone some other rich women. Now, he regretted turning down Tamaki Suou when the president of the academy host club pleaded him to play host together.

What a headache.

Seiya released a sigh as he gazed down at Usagi. She hadn't waked up since she fainted hours ago. He stared sadly at her, begging her to open her eyes and smile at him. But that would be impossible without proper medical care. He clenched his hands into fists, determined to come up with a way to get out of this sticky situation.

There should be one, right?

--

* * *

--

Usagi regained conscious in an unfamiliar, washitsu room. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, much to the dismay of her head. She realized that she was lying on a futon above the tatami flooring. The room, she noticed, has a tokonoma for hanging scrolls and a shoji for the door.

--

"_Washitsu is a Japanese-style room with tatami flooring__._

_Shoji, in traditional Japanese culture, is a room divider or door consisting of translucent washi paper over a wooden frame._

_Tokonoma is a small raised alcove in a washitsu where decorative scrolls are hung. This interior decoration first appeared in Muromachi period." – Japanese traditional architectural. _

--

"Where am I?" Usagi murmured to herself.

Raising her hand, she found a wet cloth resting against her forehead. Her head, she realized, throbbed painfully and she doubt she would feel any more comfortable by lying back down.

But before she could step out of the futon, the wooden door slid opened quietly as Taiki entered the room, surprised to see Usagi smiling back at him.

"Usagi, you aren't supposed to be moving about. Please lie back down and get some more rest." Taiki instructed quickly as he set his tray of food and medication down on the floor besides the futon.

"Taiki, where are we?" Usagi asked softly.

"Kyoto." Taiki answered briefly as he positioned her back down into her lying posture and tugged her under the blanket. He checked her temperature next, and was relief to find that it wasn't as high as before.

He glimpsed at his beautiful patient looking innocently back at him and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Hungry…" Usagi answered in a soft voice as she eyed at the bowl of porridge.

Taiki chuckled at her response and reached for the bowl. "But you can only have porridge, since you haven't recovered thoroughly."

Feeling too worn out to opposed, Usagi just nodded as she pushed herself back up into a sitting position.

"Be careful. It's really hot." Taiki scooping half a spoon full of porridge, warned.

"But, Taiki, I can eat by myself." Usagi stated, not wanting Taiki to spoon feed her. She wasn't a child anymore and, despite her feeble condition, she knew that she can feed herself just fine.

"As your doctor, I have the responsibility to be taking care of you." Taiki opposed, blowing the surface of the porridge before directing the spoon over to her. "Be a good girl and eat up slowly."

Usagi pouted but resist no further. She knew that she wasn't in any condition to be arguing with Taiki or to be picky over the food available. Feeling utterly defeated, she leaned forward and took a scoop of the porridge. Her lips were seen curving into a delightful smile at the familiarly delicious taste.

"Seiya made this?" Usagi asked happily.

"You've got a pretty sharp tongue, Usagi." Taiki grinned at her sudden enthusiasm as he scooped another spoon full.

"So, he's not angry at me anymore?"

"He was never angry at you." Taiki told her while sighing.

"Really? Then, why isn't he here?"

"That's because…" Taiki paused, pondering whether he should be telling her about his whereabouts. He had promised Seiya to keep an eye on Usagi and not let her know about the current so-called work that he was involved in, since she shouldn't be worrying about anything else besides her present condition.

"I'm going out to find Seiya and apologize to him." Usagi stood up, determined to leave the room and go to wherever Seiya was despite her feeble condition.

"No! You shouldn't be anywhere out of the bed." Taiki rushed over and blocked her path.

"But, Taiki, you told me before that worries are bad for health. My condition will never get better if I don't know where Seiya is. So, as my doctor, won't you let me go to him? Don't you want me to get well soon?" Usagi attacked Taiki with her big watery, puppy-doll eyes.

Taiki almost fall back at her _cute_ assault, but he was determined to remain firm. "I do want you to get well soon. But not this way…"

Then, his speech was interrupted by a loud knock on the door followed by a female voice calling, "Taiki, my love, I can't wait to see you. Are you done yet?"

"Damn!" Taiki cursed between his breath before freezing at the aura of death that was streaming out from Usagi.

He grinned anxiously at her while she smiled dangerously back at him.

"You've got some explaining to do."

--

* * *

--

At the main house of a famous brothel, gathered a crowd of rich women fawning over a charming youth with long, dark hair that was let loose over his shoulders. The handsome young man was dressed in an exclusive, striped silk, black hakama. There, he stood at the central stage, with his arms folded, seemingly to be annoyed by his noisy surrounding.

"How long more must I keep standing here?" Seiya muttered to himself.

"You don't have to do anything! Just stand there! YEAHHHHHHH!!" The women around him shouted in pleasure.

Seiya stared back at the crowd at disbelief. What are they treating him as? A display item? But, it was Taiki's proposed idea to Setsuna after all. He got no choice but to trust that this was the fastest way to earn enough money to pay for Usagi's medical debt. Besides, standing at where he is now was definitely better than touching or getting touched by some unknown women.

But, the next announcement coming from Setsuna changed that perception.

"Alright, ladies! Let the biding begin!"

Biding? What biding? Seiya turned towards Setsuna who was gesturing a thumb up at him, telling him to keep up with the great work.

"This is not great at all! What do you take me as? An auction item?!" Seiya yelled at Setsuna, but his shout was overshadowed by the scream of prices from the bidders.

It was amazing to watch how the price raised from merely a few hundreds mon to a couple of thousand and to a nearly ten thousand mon just to achieve a night with this beautiful youth. His last bidding price was nearly high enough to even buy down a house, let alone clear the debt.

--

"_Mon was the currency of Japan from the Muromachi period until 1870." – Japanese historical fact._

--

Setsuna was nodding gratefully at the price Seiya was fetching until she noticed the crowd going frenzy, quarrelling among themselves over the rightful price and possession of Seiya. When one of the women tried getting up onto the stage to him, the others followed, causing a huge commotion.

Seiya tried fleeing but found himself caught in the middle of a tight barrier. He was surrounded by whining and screaming women who blocked all his available paths to escape. He looked up, intending to use his PK power to levitate himself out of the mess but an oversized woman jumped out from no where and embraced him, causing him to drop onto the ground.

"Get away…! Stop touching me, you perverted women!" Seiya's yell fell into deaf ears as women of all sizes yanked him this way and that way, causing his hakama to rip apart from the forceful pulls.

The glimpse of his chest brought about a much bigger chaos. Now, all the women went crazy, fighting among themselves for the opportunity to touch his body. Seiya wanted very much to blast every single one of them away from him. He knew he could break through them and avoided getting rape if he did that, but he could think of the inconvenience and problems he'll cause after activating his psychic power. Firstly, he will expose himself as a dangerous person and be on a wanted list in the capital of ancient Japan. Next, if he was to become a criminal, then Usagi and Taiki will conveniently be seen as his accomplices. Definitely, he wasn't going to allow that. In the end, he still couldn't bring himself to use his PK power on these crazy women.

"Get away from Seiya!" A familiar voice growled.

Then, the barricade of women that once surrounded Seiya unexplainably moved away from him while grasping onto their heads in pain. Moans and cries filled the hall as some of the women fell onto the ground at the terrible headache banging inside their heads. The pain wasn't deadly, but was throbbing enough to distract them from approaching Seiya and once they have isolated themselves away from him, the sting slowly died down.

Seiya was shocked to realize that he was free from the harassment, but was even more startled when he gazed up at the blonde staring angrily down at him.

"Od-odango…" He breathed her name and saw her clutching her fists.

Her left iris, he noticed, was black, signifying that she was now a psychic weapon. Seiya could feel the aura of fury streaming out from Usagi even though she was standing a couple of feet away. She must have thought that he was flirting with all these women since his clothes were all ripped and tore, and his hair was in a mess.

Seiya sighed quietly. He could imagine her next moves already. She was obviously going to yell at him, leave him and go to Taiki, wasn't she? He looked down, away from her glare, expecting her wrath.

But instead, all he could hear from her was soft sniffs as she flung herself to him, embracing him dearly, much to his surprise.

"Seiya is mine! Don't snatch him away!" Usagi cried, declaring aloud to the women around them while hugging him tightly.

"Odango… yo-you're not angry at me? You don't hate me?" Seiya was too overwhelmed with surprise and couldn't find the appropriate reaction.

"Hate you? Why?" Usagi asked innocently. Her curiosity had overpowered her previous possessiveness as she released him ever so slightly to meet him in the eyes. "Why should I hate you?"

"Because I did something unforgivable…" Seiya answered softly, avoiding her innocent stare.

"Like what?" Usagi questioned simply.

She couldn't recall anything that he might do to offend her. She was clearly the one who had troubled him. So, shouldn't he be the one who should feel agitated instead?

Seiya's mind went blank at her response. He couldn't believe that she wasn't mad at him, not even by a little. It clearly made no sense since she had avoided making eyes contact with him till now.

"Seiya, do you hate me for clinging onto you?" Usagi blurted out in a rush, once again, catching him by surprise.

He looked startling back at her for a moment longer before a muffled sound escaped his lips. Usagi continued staring at him, not getting his sudden change of reaction. She continued to peer at him, waiting for his answer, but he just kept laughing.

"So, you really hate being with me?" Usagi concluded sadly, thinking that he most probably saw her as a joke.

"No, of course not!" Seiya answered immediately, surprising her, as he drew her into his arms and embraced her tightly. "Do you know that I am so happy to be hugging you right now! So glad that you don't hate me… Odango, the truth is… I really lov-…"

"What do you think you are doing to my patient, Seiya?" A familiar voice from behind interrupted his confession.

"You again!" Seiya growled as he glared over his shoulder at Taiki who was forcing a smile down at them.

"Taiki!" Usagi happily called out to him while Seiya possessively held her inside his arms, glaring back at his nemesis.

"I'm not giving her to you this time." Seiya told Taiki sternly.

"We'll see about that…" Taiki faked a smile.

Their eyes were seen sending spiteful electrocuting waves into one another's till someone interrupted them with a light cough.

"Ahem!"

All eyes flew to Setsuna who forced a fake smile to the three youth on stage. She pointed at the area around them, gesturing at her clients, who were either moaning or complaining, and stated.

"I don't care how this happened. But I presume the three of you are going to pay for the mess right?"

--

* * *

--

"Yaten dear. Please, eat some… You haven't had anything for a day at least." Rei pleaded as she set a tray filled with food on his night stand.

But Yaten simply just push it away, refusing to eat anything from this place. He hadn't eaten anything for more than a day already and, though he was aware of how childish he was acting, he still held out, since it was his only way to protest.

He turned away from Rei and stayed completely quiet, in hope that she would vanish, but she was still there despite his coldness.

"You would die if you don't eat anything…" Rei pestered.

"Then, just let me die. Compared to my life now, death is definitely a lot better." Yaten finally answered, his eyes locking into hers with determination.

"Fine. Then I'll call Uncle to starve Minako Aino too." Rei threatened.

"You…!" Yaten snarled furiously. "Leave her alone! She's not a tool to be used to make me obey you!"

"If a low minion like her isn't a tool, then what is?" Rei shrugged at his statement, making Yaten boiled at her comment.

This insults and accusations directed at Minako every now and then irritated Yaten to no end. How he wished he could simply just massacre his family and Rei, shutting them up forever. But, he knew it wasn't possible. Firstly, he wasn't a unique levelled and besides, he wasn't as heartless as the Great Powers or has any massacring abilities like them to be considered threatening. Of course, he wanted his family and Rei dead for the evil deeds they had done to his friends and Minako. But, he knew pretty well that he couldn't bring himself to kill anyone despite a given opportunity.

"So, are you going to eat or not?" Rei asked impatiently.

Yaten glared at her for a moment longer before reluctantly reaching for the tray and picking up a slice of toast.

Rei smiled at his obedience and added, "You better eat more, because the amount you eat is equivalent to the amount that she will be eating."

Yaten kept quiet and continued to chew on his bread, deciding to ignore her. There was no use in arguing back, since it will not change anything. He will still be stuck here without his friends and Minako. He knew he was powerless now and there was nothing he could do besides praying for their safety. But, it will definitely do him good if god would just send someone down and bring Rei out of his sight.

But sadly, heaven didn't send anyone down to help get rid of her. She was still there as she watched silently till he finished the rest of his breakfast.

--

* * *

--

Haruka could see the outline of the mansion that he has been searching for in the distance. But, not knowing what his next move should be, he didn't dare to move out from his hiding spot as he remained hidden behind the nearest tree.

He held his breath, thinking of a plan to sneak into the mansion and save Yaten, but nothing seemed to be registering in his head right now. His dream led him to this place, telling him that this was where Yaten was being held in, but it didn't guide him through with the rescuing procedure. He thought of sleeping again, in hope that he would dream of something useful to help him this time.

But something or rather someone passing by from his side interrupted his thoughts. He turned and his jaw dropped at the sight of a brunette who looked very much like Usagi.

The girl looked at him for a moment longer before placing the tip of her finger to her lips and smiled.

"Shhh…"

He heard her light giggles as she strolled her way out of the forest, into the main road, and stopped right in font of the mansion gate where she was held back by two security guards.

Concerned, Haruka tailed behind and stopped at a distance, close enough to hear their conversation.

"Miss, are you aware that this is the domain of Hayoku-sama, one of the Kou's divisions?" one of the securities asked.

"Hm-mh." The brunette nodded with a cheery smile.

"Then you should know that outsiders are prohibited to be near here. You must leave."

"Eh? But I came all the way here to meet the Kou's. It's really important! So, wouldn't you please be so kind and let me in? Please…" The girl begged with enlarged, puppy-doll eyes.

The securities were silent for a second, taken aback by her charm. They looked away while blushing and replied, "I'm sorry. We still can't let you in without previous notice. But we can help you pass the message if it's that important."

"That would be great! Thanks!" The girl cheered happily and introduced. "Please let them know that the Great Powers of Satan, Yummei Furinji is here..."

"... To kill." She finished and lashed her hands out at the two securities.

As ridiculous as it may seemed, both of her hands were seen passing through and into their chests.

"Yoroshiku (Please to meet you) and Sayonara (Good-bye)." She smiled sweetly at them while withdrawing her hands out of their bodies.

There was a moment of dead silence as the two men collapsed onto the ground, seemingly to be dead.

Haruka held his breath at what he had just witnessed. His eyes widened another time when he saw Yuumei turning slowly back to him. Her steady black orbs caught his shocked ones and she grinned mysteriously.

"Shhh…" She once again placed the tip of her finger to her lips, gesturing him to remain silent and to stay away.

"Do not disturb, neh." She winked at Haruka before disappearing into the mansion.

--

* * *

--

I'm sorry for the lack of update. I've been really busy with works recently; so sadly, all these free production got to be put aside for later. I'm really happy to have received many readers/fans mails and reviews :)! Like I said, since I don't get pay for writing all these, reviews and responses from readers are the best incentives for me. Sorry if I couldn't reply to most of your reviews, but I will try to answer to some now.

For those who ask request for new fics/ arts from me. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait if you aren't a client. I might deliver, but it will definitely take some while.

And yes, I'll be continuing with the Tale of the Zodiac after I'm done with the Love Legend. So don't worry ya?

Hmmm. As for the next update for this, I would most probably upload a new chap at the 300 reviews at least. Haha! So, don't rush me guys…

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this chap and remember to leave me a REVIEW ya? Love to all my readers and fans!


	18. This Ugly and Beautiful World

--

Last Chapter:

_As ridiculous as it may seemed, both of her hands were seen passing through and into their chests._

_"Yoroshiku (Please to meet you) and Sayonara (Good-bye)." She smiled sweetly at them while withdrawing her hands out of their bodies._

_There was a moment of dead silence as the two men collapsed onto the ground, seemingly to be dead._

_Haruka held his breath at what he had just witnessed. His eyes widened another time when he saw Yuumei turning slowly back to him. Her steady black orbs caught his shocked ones and she grinned mysteriously._

"_Shhh…" She once again placed the tip of her finger to her lips, gesturing him to remain silent and to stay away._

"_Do not disturb, neh." She winked at Haruka before disappearing into the mansion._

--

* * *

--

**This Ugly and Beautiful World**

--

"Eh? No one's home?" Yuumei pouted as she stepped over the several dead bodies around her.

The grand hall was littered with fresh corpses but, strangely, there wasn't a trace of blood or external injuries on any of the dead bodies. Only Yuumei's hands were soaked red, with blood dripping off from the gloves she was wearing.

The remaining group of securities and magic users froze at a corner in fear. They watched as a bead of blood slipped off from her glove and hit the marble floor, leaving a red trail behind as she approached them with an innocent smile.

"May I know where the Kous went?" She asked politely.

She continued to peer at them while waiting for their response, but after witnessing her killing spree, she had frightened all coherent thoughts out of their heads. Who in the right mind wouldn't be afraid of someone who couldn't get hurt by bullets, spells, or any other psychical attacks? If being invulnerable wasn't scary enough, she could even kill effortlessly with just a single touch?

Who or what exactly was she?

"Eh? None of you know?" Yuumei frowned lightly.

They flinched at her sign of displease and opened their mouths, making an attempt to answer her, but they couldn't speak. They shut their mouths for a second and opened them again when they heard a loud cracking noise coming from the high ceiling.

Startled, they looked up, watching as an orange-headed boy came leaping down from above. He landed steadily amongst the falling stone crumbs and glanced uncaringly at his surrounding.

His pair of red eyes was seen widening when he saw Yuumei waving cheerily at him.

"Yo-ho! Kyo-chan!"

"Yuu… Yuuu… Yuumei Furinji?!" Kyo stuttered with his words, pointing his index at her. "What are you doing here at the Hino's residence?!"

"Eh? Isn't this the Kou's division?!" Yuumei replied back in shock.

"What? The Kou's?!"

Confusion lingered in the air for the next seconds. Neither of them said anything till Kyo stomped over and picked up a random guard by his collar, demanding an answer to their doubt.

"This… this is Hayoku Kou's residence, sir…" The man choked out in fear. "Bu-but, our master and mistress won't be back by tonight. They even brought our young master along to make arrangement for his engagement dinner…"

"Engagement dinner? Where?" Yuumei hopped in and asked casually.

"At, at Kazuka Hino's residence…"

"Ehhh…? That's far!" Yuumei exclaimed in a pout.

She pondered for a second before skipping out the main door, waving to Kyo as she did. "Ja-neh (See you), Kyo-chan! I'll leave the rest to you!"

"He-Hey! Don't just go! At least tell me where Kazuka Hino's residence is!" Kyo yelled back though Yuumei had already gone out of his sight.

He let out a frustrated sigh and glared fiercely down at the poor man whom he had been holding onto all these while.

"Tell me the details to the residence of Kazuka Hino!" Kyo demanded. "I've got a head to claim…"

--

* * *

--

Yaten stepped out of the fabric store in exasperation, after his parents had forced him into getting a custom-made evening suit for his meeting with Rei's parents.

"Move it, son!" His father urged, pushing him from the back harshly.

Yaten glowered at his father, almost tripping over the chains that were strapped around his ankles. He continued to remain quiet as he walked down the sidewalk, ignoring all the whispering that was going on around him. Obviously, the whispers were all directed to him since no one was blind enough as not to notice all the metal locks on him.

He quickened his pace, stopping his step at the fancy car awaiting him, and reluctantly climbed in. His parents smiled and slid in next to him. Yaten tried his best to ignore them as he scooted to the edge of the seat, as far from them as possible. The car backed out of the parking spot a moment later and speeded down the empty roads. Throughout the journey, he just remained quiet while glaring at the grey pavement slipping past.

"You won't give the Hino a first good impression when you are looking this grumpy, son." His mother told him.

"So, you think this will give them a better impression?" Yaten lifted his arms, gesturing the locks to his parents.

"What we are doing now is for your own good, son."

"Ha! Treating me like a real criminal is for my own good?" Yaten laughed sarcastically at the remark. "Why don't you just lock me up in a cage and leave me to die? That will definitely do me good."

"Don't be rude to your mother!" His father snapped, raising his finger at him. "Look! If you want that _Succubus_ to stay unharmed, you better listen to us and act appropriately when you meet the Hino, you got it?"

Yaten's eyes shot up angrily at his father. His face twisted with fury and agony. He didn't understand why everyone felt compelled to bring Minako's pain into everything. She hardly deserved to be treated like a tool to be use against him. But, it was useless to try arguing back. His parents would still use her to threaten him, regardless.

Enraged, Yaten simply turned his whole body away from them as he tried to ignore their on-going conversation. He was sick and tired of hearing them brag over his wedding with Rei. Couldn't they just let him be and stop bringing the issue up already? Or at least find a better topic instead?

"If this marriage goes well, I'm sure the Hino will agree to be our ally and help us abolish the Satan's legacy." His father declared.

Yaten flinched, his ears perking up with interest. Satan? Why would Satan be involved with his marriage arrangement with Rei? No, to be more precise, why would the Kou family want to get themselves involved with Satan? They must be insane to even consider overthrowing the world strongest association. But, it was nothing compared to how they were planning on using him as a stepping stone to achieve a reputation as grand as Satan.

He laughed silently at his poor self. How ridiculous can this get? But he should have expected nothing more from his family. He was, nevertheless, just a tool to the Kou. And now, they were just putting him into good use so as to get back the fame and power that they had lost to Satan over the years.

It was that simple.

Definitely, there was nothing complex about the concept. He didn't even bother to listen to their conference over the matters anymore. Marriage? Power? Satan? Whatever. He was sick and tired of trying to break free from this absurd family. They can do whatever they want with him. They can take his freedom and future. As long as they promise they wouldn't hurt Minako, he didn't care what happens to him anymore.

"How hopeless…" Yaten muttered to himself as he stared up at the light blue sky, watching a fowl of birds flew past the soft clouds and admiring how carefree they seemed. Why couldn't he just be a bird? Life would be a lot simpler that way. He could do whatever, go wherever, and be with whoever he wants.

Soon, after the fowl disappeared into the distant, he found himself thinking about his friends and Minako, finally realizing how much he was missing them. His missed the joyous sound of laughter, the love rivalling between his two best friends, but most of all, he missed all the blissful moment he had with Minako.

Yes, the Aces were his true family; people who truly cared and accepted him for who he was. But none of them was anywhere near him now. He couldn't even grasp seeing a future with them.

No, he shouldn't think this way. He got to believe that the Aces will definitely be reunited again since, right now, it was the least he could.

--

* * *

--

At the registry of a famous brothel, stood a line of women requesting for a 'date' with their desired male companions.

"I'm sorry, Miss. But, Seiya and Taiki are fully booked for the night." Usagi repeated herself for the hundredth time at least, but still managed to crack a smile out of politeness. "And, their next available time slot will be a week from now."

"What?! A week?" The woman exploded while the remaining people in line grumbled. "I heard they are new and incredibly hot. But, do they seriously provide such good service?"

"Seiya and Taiki only provide services to clients who win them in their games of Go and blind tag. I'll proceed with the registry charge then. The entrance fee is 50 mon per match. You will receive a night of free service if you win, but pay a penalty of 250 mon if you lose. Will you still like me to make an advance booking for you, Miss?" Usagi finished off with a smile.

The woman took another look at Usagi before pulling out the money needed and placing it on the table without further hesitation or question. "Here is 100 mon. Get me the latest time slot for the both of them."

"Hai! Thank you!" Usagi smiled as she took the money.

After finishing another set of registration work, Usagi completed her shift and left the counter so as to check on Seiya and Taiki. Compared to them, she was given a much lighter task after spending an hour begging her two overprotective friends to let her help out. Though Usagi understood that they would prefer her not to wander around the brothel, she didn't think it was fair for her friends to do everything while she stays safely in her room.

When they finally agreed in reluctant, Taiki asked for her to work in the registry that served only female clients, and she was not allowed to wander into the main hall where all the male clients would normally gather. In return for her obedience, they promised her that they would never sell their dignities to clear the debt.

They will have to if they lost in their own games to the clients.

But, using his PK power to his advantage, Seiya could effortlessly avoid getting caught in any game of blind tag by levitating himself high above his clients, and with such gifted intelligence, Taiki definitely needed no luck in his Go match which made winning seemed like a breeze.

It was Taiki's idea, after all. He knew what these female clients' desires were. Of course, money wasn't their issue of concern. They were too rich as to waste money on men for attention. Sexual pleasure was one aspect, while providing them with a challenge and a goal was another. The games designed would not only save Seiya and Taiki from the need to sell their bodies, but also earned them big profits since their clients would feel dissatisfied enough to return for a rematch so as to win a night with either of them.

But, none had succeeded, which was why they had became highly popular among the female clients.

Their success to bring in money, without the need to sell their bodies, indeed surprised Setsuna, though she wasn't complaining since they were making profit for her brothel. However, their ways of exploitation had somehow crushed her belief as a woman who had lived a life of tragedy. This was supposed to be an ugly world. So, shouldn't penniless foreigners like them be suffering and selling their bodies or souls to earn a living? Yet, here they were, manipulating the rich and earning their money with such ease. How was that even achievable?

Setsuna creased her forehead in disbelief at the thought of them and was about to turn the corner when she saw Usagi carrying a tray of drinks at the end of the hallway.

"Tsukino." She called out to her.

Usagi froze and turned around, eyeing at Setsuna shortly before smiling.

"Hai, Setsuna-san. May I help you with anything?" Usagi asked politely as she went over to her.

"Where are you taking these drinks to? I don't remember assigning you to handle room services."

"No, they are not for the clients… These Sencha (Japanese green tea) are for Seiya and Taiki. I thought they might like to have some during their intervals..." Usagi replied cheerily.

"But, they won't get their intervals if they lost. Won't it be a waste then?"

Usagi cocked her head innocently to the side, confused by her words. "Waste? Why would it be a waste? Seiya and Taiki can never lose…"

"How can you be so sure?" Setsuna challenged. "Yes, they might have won all the matches so far. But that doesn't mean they'll keep winning in the future."

"Iie (no)…" Usagi shook her head and smiled out of certainty. "Seiya and Taiki never lie. When they say they'll win, they will… and they will continue to do so…"

"You sure are naive, aren't you? Trusting people words like this…" Setsuna laughed at her reponse. "But, what can I say? Since I used to think like you when I was younger…"

"Eh? Like me?" Usagi stared oddly at Setsuna for a moment, waiting for her explanation, but she just stared out of the window and it didn't look like she was going to speak anytime soon.

For a moment, Usagi kept quiet, watching Setsuna locked her eyes on the full moon while smiling sadly.

"Like you, I used to have two very important people whom I grew up with… They were my sister and my husband…" Setsuna explained, breaking the silence. "But they are all gone now. My sister was sold off to a brothel to repay my parents' loan. She was forced to work every day till her body gave out and she died. My husband... he was forced into the military and sent to the front because we were poor. Like my sis, he promised that he will return and we'll be together again. But he never did… He died in the battlefield. In the end, they couldn't keep their promise, despite how much I believe in our future together…"

Setsuna shut her eyes, pausing for a second, before reopening them with a much calmer expression but her smile was still as sad.

"Isn't that strange? In this world, there are people who are so poor that they must sell their bodies… and there are people who are so wealthy that they can afford to buy those people's bodies… how inevitable… which was why I decided to join this filthy place and open a brothel. And like I've predicted, it was a success…"

"What a pitiful woman you are." A low murmuring voice told her.

Setsuna's face shot up to Usagi's, completely caught off guard. Pitiful? Her? There was no reason how anyone could pity someone who ran a famous and successful brothel which even the state's officers visit.

It didn't sound appropriate at all.

"Little girl, aren't you the pathetic one right here? You and your friends are working under my brothel…"

"But, unlike you, we are alive, free, and happily together. I don't consider that a pity." Usagi replied with an innocent smile.

"I'll really love to see your sorry expression when your friends get force to sell their bodies…" Setsuna laughed.

"Neh, Setsuna-san, aren't you the naïve one right here?"

Setsuna dropped her laughter at the remark. She looked up, surprised to Usagi smiling confidently back at her.

"I'm not like you… I won't allow Seiya and Taiki to stay in the world you are living in." Usagi told her with assurance while turning around, ready to proceed up the stairs.

"Really? What if none of you have a choice?" Setsuna challenged, watching Usagi paused her steps at the question proposed.

The cloud shifted, shielding the moon and blocking the light it would have provided into the hallway. The darkness hid part of Usagi's face as she glanced over her shoulder at Setsuna.

"Then I'll destroy this _ugly_ world of yours and make it beautiful."

Her subtle smile was the last thing Setsuna saw before she disappeared up the stairs.

--

* * *

--

Taiki slid open the door, stepping out and breathing in some fresh air. He had spent his last couple of hours trapped in the washitsu room playing Go with various women who craved for his affection. Winning them was easy, but entertaining them was sure tiring. They were demanding, to begin with, and could get terribly irritating with their constant blabbering and touching. He didn't like their intimacy at all, though he would always brush it off with a smile.

But now, with no one around, the last thing he felt like doing was smiling. At least that was what he thought till he saw Usagi happily running towards him while holding onto a tray of teacups.

An instant smile spread across his face at the sight of her.

"Taiki! Taiki! Look what I've made for you!" Usagi exclaimed cheerily as she directed a cup over to him. "Da-Da!! It's Sencha!!"

Taiki chuckled joyously for the first time that night as he took the cup over from her. But before he could even thank her, Usagi unexpectedly grabbed onto his hand along with cup he was holding, stopping from him taking a sip.

"Wait! Don't drink it!" Usagi shrieked.

He blinked and stared bafflingly at Usagi, not understanding her resistance. But he didn't have much time to consider when he met her pair of watery blue eyes.

"Taiki, I'm sorry." She sobbed.

Taiki flinched at her apology and tears, almost dropping the cup he was holding. He thoughtfully took the tray over from her and shoved it onto a nearby wooden stand, allowing her to wipe her tears.

"Wh-what's wrong, Usagi? Did someone bully you? Or touched you? Let me know, I'll kill that bastar-…"

Taiki froze at his mid sentence when he saw Usagi shaking her head. He peered concernedly down at her, hoping that she would open up to him and let him know what that was bothering her. If it was a client who tried to touch or rape her, he swore he would send that guy, whoever he was, to the deepest depth of hell.

"The… The…" Usagi stuttered.

"Yes?" Taiki encouraged, his feet was already pointed towards the stairs, ready to bolt down and kill whoever that upset her.

"The Sencha! It turned cold…!" Usagi finished as she grasped onto his arms and stared remorsefully up at him.

"Wh-what?" Taiki startled, not sure whether he had heard her right.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to make a hot, nice tea for you and Seiya. But I chatted too long with Setsuna-san, and they are all cold now." Usagi explained sadly.

A chuckle sound escaped from Taiki's mouth as soon as he heard those words. He covered his mouth with his hand and restrained himself from laughing aloud, not wanting to disturb the clients who were occupying the row of rooms along the corridor.

How unpredictable can she get? Crying over a cup of cold tea? That was hilarious. At least to Taiki, it was. He hadn't expected that coming at all. Normal girls would be crying and getting themselves upset over situations that were either dangerous or hopeless, but Usagi won't. She wasn't even crying when she stabbed herself with a blade to save Seiya or when she stood up for him when everyone called him a brain freak. So, why was she upset over a cup of cold tea?

"You always never fail to surprise me, Usagi… How amazing…" Taiki chuckled, eyeing adoringly at her.

"Eh? It's nothing amazing to drink cold tea. It's not good for your body." Usagi cocked her head slightly to the side, not getting his joyous reaction.

"No, I'm saying you… You are really amazing, Usagi." He smiled.

"Eh? Me? No, no! You are the amazing one, not me." Usagi pointed out.

"No, I'm not." Taiki giggled lightly while disagreeing with her.

"Yes, you are!" Usagi persisted as she grasped onto Taiki by his hands, much to his surprise.

"You are smart, good-looking, knowledgeable, reliable and incredibly intelligent!" She praised openly, making Taiki blushed lightly at her acclaim.

His blush instantly deepened when he felt her squeezing his hands lightly while staring admiringly into his eyes.

"I've always admire you, Taiki. You always manage to top anyone, win any games, and solve any problems so effortlessly. That's incredible! You are really great! You really are!" Usagi exclaimed cheerily.

Taiki smiled faintly at her, but shook his head at her remark. "No… I'm not that great... There's still one person I couldn't win…"

"Eh?!" Usagi threw him a shock look.

Deep down inside, she didn't like the idea of having someone smarter than Taiki. He was always way more brilliant than her in any aspects, and he had helped her a great deal ever since young. So, he should be the number one genius, shouldn't he? And, to tell her that there was actually someone brighter than him sounded rather unreasonable for Usagi. Maybe she should consider murdering that person for him to keep him on the top spot.

"Who is he?" Usagi inquired innocently.

"He is…"

His answer was cut off by a loud bang coming from the end of the corridor. Usagi flinched but after realizing the source of the noise, she soon found herself running toward the room located at the extreme end.

"Seiya!"

Usagi slid opened the door hastily, only to find three plump women staring surprisingly back at her while pinning Seiya on the tatami flooring.

Her eyes instantly snapped open with fury when she noticed that Seiya was almost half-naked with his hakama slipping off from his shoulders. But what further angered her was that the women had their hands slid into his clothes and around his waist. The scene with Seiya lying uncomfortably on the floor with three stout women on top of him was definitely not a pleasant sight for Usagi. Instead, it looked more like a rape scenario to her.

"What the hell are you doing with Seiya?" Usagi demanded.

Her eyes sharpened dangerously as she clutched her hands into fists, ignoring Taiki and Setsuna who had just arrived behind her.

"No one touch Seiya!"

Both Seiya and Taiki gasped at the blonde standing angrily before them. No good. Definitely, a provoked Usagi was nothing amusing. They got to think of something fast before she turned into a psychic weapon and used her dark, mind power on the clients, killing them mercilessly.

Then, at that crucial moment, an idea suddenly flashed past Seiya.

He shot up, surprising everyone when he eagerly embraced Usagi, knocking her over to the ground and stopping her from activating her power.

"Odango-nee!" Seiya called out in a child-like voice, pressing his face into her chest and squeezing his eyes in an act of fear.

This made Taiki's temperature shot up with fury, and he swore he would have ripped Seiya from Usagi if she hadn't dropped her anger a second later.

"Seiya?" She breathed his name softly in surprise.

Her eyes were seen flashing with their normal kindness at his embrace as she hugged him back while listening to his explanation.

"Those obassan broke the rules! They didn't put on their blindfolds and attacked me before the game start!" Seiya cried, hugging Usagi tightly while pointing his index at the three women.

--

"_Obassan is a former addressing to an older lady." – Japanese naming system._

--

"He's a devil."

Both Taiki and Setsuna commented between their breath at Seiya's tactic to not only tame Usagi, but also his three clients, who were seen apologizing to him a second later for their inappropriate behaviours.

Acting like little child in pain, Seiya had successfully manipulated the women to feel bad enough to even pay a compensation fee for upsetting him, earning him extra profit to clear the debt.

"Great acting skill, Seiya." Taiki praised sarcastically after Setsuna and the clients had left for the transaction.

Seiya, on the other hand, glared back at Taiki with a sly smile. He was still hugging onto Usagi, unwilling to let her go which only irritated Taiki further.

However, despite how displeased Taiki was feeling, he couldn't deny that Seiya had made a smart move to resolve the entire mess. It was pretty amazing how he could always come up with all these different ways to make Usagi smile; especially, when he wasn't even born a genius.

No, maybe he was one, since he won't be able to overcome these many obstacles and win Usagi's affection if he wasn't.

What a scary guy he truly was.

Definitely, it wasn't easy to try defeating someone like him. At least, Taiki knew he couldn't bring himself to act childishly like how Seiya did, which he wished he could, since he could get the opportunity to hug Usagi.

"How long are you planning to keep sticking onto Usagi?" Taiki growled at Seiya.

"For eternity." Seiya answered simply as he drew himself closer into Usagi's chest, making Usagi giggled at his intimacy.

"And, you think I'll allow that?" Taiki challenged with a forceful smile.

He had his hands clutched tightly into fists, ready to charge front and start a fight anytime soon.

Seiya smirked quietly to himself when he noticed Taiki's tightly closed fists. There was no way he was going to start a fight with him and let Usagi go just yet. It had been at least six hours since he had last seen Usagi. He was completely devoid of her presence, and getting surrounded by a bunch of ugly clients only made him missed her even more. He couldn't afford to let her go, not when she was finally here with him.

"Taiki-nii, shouldn't you be going already?" Seiya reminded intentionally, his tone remained child-like but somewhat scheming. "Your next client, Princess Kakyuu, should be here soon. It won't be very nice of you to keep her waiting, since she's probably the one who might get us to Heian Palace."

"Thank you for the thoughtful reminder, Seiya-chan." Taiki played along, smiling forcefully. "But, shouldn't you be releasing Usagi and get going too? It's not nice to let your last client wait either, right?"

Usagi soon found herself greeted with silence as she glanced bafflingly at the two boys glaring quietly at one another. Definitely, neither of them was willing to move an inch out of the room where Usagi was in. Though they were both aware of how childish they were acting, they couldn't afford to leave now and grant the other party the additional time to be with Usagi.

But their effort to remain persistent immediately went into a waste when Usagi suddenly shot up from her seated position.

"Ah! I remember now!" Usagi shrieked, surprising her two friends.

Without further hesitation, she disappeared out of the room while murmuring something about tea, leaving Taiki and Seiya sighing together in defeat.

--

* * *

--

Somewhere in the Sohma domain, Yuki kicked the iron door for the hundredth time that day, desperate to get out and save Tohru. He couldn't stay here, not when his family had planned on selling his lover to the slave market. They couldn't have picked a better way to punish him for going against their wishes. There was no way he would allow Tohru to get sold to some illegal trade and work as a slave.

Distressed, he threw his knuckles against the metal door, causing it to bang loudly.

"LET ME OUT!!" Yuki yelled at the top of his voice, but as expected, there was no reply.

He hit the steel barrier several times more till his fist was coated with blood, but still, the huge door remained firmly shut without even a sign of dent on it.

"Let me out! Let me out… please…" Yuki pleaded, losing his voice as he dropped back down on the cold ground.

"Someone please… save her…"

He remained kneeled on the floor of his cell, staring blankly at the dark base before him. Inside, he felt worthless and small. Why couldn't he get out of here? Why couldn't he save the girl he loved? How useless can he get? He knew he shouldn't be doing any self-blaming now, but he couldn't think of anything else. There was no way he could escape, not when his parents had jailed him in this special chamber that silenced his power,

Breaking out would be impossible.

At least, that was what he thought till the ceiling came crashing down.

An orange-haired man stood steadily amongst the falling ceiling fragments as he glanced observantly at his surrounding before his eyes landed on the startled Yuki.

"Who _the hell_ are you?" Both of them asked together, but in two different tones, one in demand, while the other in shock.

It didn't take the two boys very long to create a weird tension between them as they glared wordlessly at one another, each waiting for the other to introduce themselves.

Yuki frowned, finding the man incredibly familiar, but he couldn't recall ever seeing him before. Furthermore, this stranger didn't look friendly enough to be considered as an angel sent down from heaven to get him out of this horrible prison. Yuki could come up with all the possible identity for this man, but never in his wildest dream would he guess that he was actually staing at his long lost cousin, Kyo Sohma, who had somehow became one of the Great Power of Satan.

"Fine, sissy boy!" Kyo yelled impatiently, breaking the silence. "I don't really care who you are. Just let me know where the hell this place is!"

"My prison." Yuki answered simply.

Kyo took two steps over to Yuki and yanked him up by his collar with an angry look. "What do you mean by your prison? Answer me properly!"

Yuki eyed back wearily before sighing, "Pretty funny. You are the one who broke in here, yet you are asking me such silly questions?"

"I'll kill you!!" Kyo screamed.

He lifted his fist in the air, preparing to punch Yuki in the face. But, Yuki grabbed his arm on time before he could land a hit on him.

"Pretty good for a sissy." Kyo hissed between his teeth.

"Not bad for a retard." Yuki retorted calmly.

"Why you-!"

Kyo swore he would have ended Yuki's life at that instant if the door hadn't flung open a second later as two guards came running into the cell, shock to find Kyo holding onto their hostage.

Kyo raised his eyebrows at them immediately believing that he had, yet again, break into the wrong house.

This wasn't good.

Instead of running off on his own to complete another mission, he should have just waited with Hotaru to accomplish theirs. What a headache. Now, if Hotaru couldn't finish their assignment on time, he would partially be responsible for the delay, and pulling his team down wasn't something Kyo was fond of.

Annoyed, Kyo wrestled his fingers loose and released Yuki when he saw the taller guard running toward him with a metal rod.

Kyo ceased his forehead in confusion as he seized the weapon into his palm with ease. Guards like them should be psychics right? Then why weren't they using any magical or psychical powers on him? Instead, they attacked him with a rod? How stupid. He definitely couldn't understand why Yuki couldn't escape from such a lousy cell guarded by two worthless securities.

"Boring…" Kyo murmured, tightening his grip against the solid steel.

But before anyone could react, hot steam was seen escaping through the metal stick as the iron began to melt into silver fluid against his grip. The guard instantly released the melting weapon, screaming in pain at the abnormal heat that scorched his hand.

Not out of fear of his power but rather out of shock, the two guards and Yuki froze at the spot where they were standing. No one should be able to exhibit any power in an anti-magical barrier, yet they had just witnessed someone melting an iron pole with his fingers? How was that even possible?

The only explanation that Yuki could come up with was that this mysterious intruder was actually a unique-levelled, which seemed rather absurd, since excluding Usagi and Seiya, there were less than a handful of such young, monstrous beings existing. Besides, why would a unique-levelled, super being be doing in his cell if that was the case?

But his identity was less of a concern now when Yuki seized the perfect opportunity to escape. Kyo's counterattack gave him extra time to flee out of the cell without notice.

The room turned deadly quiet a moment later as Kyo stared displeasingly at the two piles of black, human ashes before him. When he looked back, Yuki was already gone.

"Damn!" He cursed between his angry breath, regretting killing the guards too soon and wasting the golden opportunity to ask them for location.

Without much of a choice, he stomped out of the cell angrily as he continued his search to the Hino's residence.

--

* * *

--

Without hesitation, Taiki gracefully placed his next black stone on the wooden board. He smiled, looking across the tiny table at the princess seated before him.

She giggled at his tactical move, "I am starting to suspect that I'm playing with a genius here. Not even professional _dan _plays as brilliant as you do. You should consider joining the upcoming castle game."

--

"_Traditionally, the level__ of Go players has been defined using kyu and dan ranks. Kyu ranks are considered for student ranks, while dan ranks are considered master ranks._

_Castle game also known as Oshirogo, in relation to high-level go played in Japan, was an official match played by representatives of the four go houses in the castle of the shogun. In its original intention, the two players will play in the presence of the shogun." – Japanese traditional information._

--

"Thanks for the compliment, Your Highness. But I'm in no position to be participating in the castle games." Taiki replied politely.

"I can recommend you to father. I'm sure he'll agree to let you participate as long as you quit this job…"

"But, Your Highness…"

"Please call me Kakyuu."

She extended her hand out to his just when he was about to place his next stone piece. Taiki clenched his jaws together, keeping his face from wrinkling in dislike. He forced a smile and placed his other hand on top of hers in the attempt to politely lift her hands out of his.

As he did, the door slid opened gently and this scene of Taiki locking his hands around Kakyuu's was what Usagi stepped in on. Usagi almost dropped her tray of teacups at the sight before her while Taiki could only stare speechlessly back. He hadn't expected Usagi to stumble into his room in an awkward time like this. But, he couldn't blame her since she wasn't informed that Kakyuu had extended her timing with him. Now, he could only pray that she wouldn't misunderstand him for flirting with his client or whatsoever.

Usagi blinked, finally realizing the situation she was in.

"I'm sorry for not knocking." She apologized frantically with a few light bows.

"It's alright." Kakyuu smiled faintly and reluctantly slid her hands away from Taiki's.

The princess definitely wasn't here to make a fuss over a commoner's rude behaviour. Her main objective of sneaking out of the palace was to meet this incredible man whom every girl was commending about.

At first, it was her curiosity that led her here, but now, she found herself falling for this amazing person. As rumoured, Taiki wasn't just an ordinary guy who play chess in a brothel. To Kakyuu, he was unlike any other man she had ever met. She found his looks intriguing and his personality charming. For one thing, he was amusingly intelligent, way smarter and wittier than any men she knew which included her father's imperial advisor. And, to top it up, she found his mysterious and cool characteristics extremely attractive.

She couldn't understand why someone as perfect as Taiki would be working in a brothel. Nevertheless, she wanted to marry this man whether or not he was a prostitute. And, she had thought of a good plan to achieve this.

"But, I didn't remember calling for any room services." Kakyuu added after a second thought.

"Eh?" Usagi dropped her jaw as she tried to come up with a good explanation behind her sudden appearance. She couldn't possibly tell the client that she was here to bring tea for Taiki as promised. It would just make everything look awkward.

"Your Highness, didn't you mention the other time that you'd love to try out the commoners' tea? I've specially asked the kitchen to prepare some for you." Taiki answered gracefully on Usagi's behalf.

"That's really sweet of you." Kakyuu smiled happily, obviously delighted by his thoughtfulness.

Usagi let out a sigh of relief and secretly thanked Taiki with a wink.

Taiki smiled faintly and tried to force himself to concentrate on his game and conversation with Kakyuu instead of Usagi who had just entered the room.

"There's something I've been wondering about, Taiki-san." Kakyuu brought forward.

"What is it, Your Highness?"

"I was wondering what kind of girl Taiki-san likes…"

Taiki's eyes unintentionally flew to Usagi who had just set her tray down on the floor next to them. He avoided her innocent stare and quickly brushed it off with a cool grin, as if he was contemplating.

"Let's see… a girl who is brighter, a lot stronger than me in the inside, and I suppose, someone who surprises me often… " Taiki answered with a smile.

While Kakyuu giggled at his expectation, Usagi unconsciously threw Taiki a startled look that asked, _"Eh? Does such a girl even exist?"_

"Then, will it surprise you if I'm to ask you to marry me and be the prince of Kyoto?" Kakyuu asked boldly.

She had expected Taiki to shot up startlingly at her proposal, but he just sat there with a calm smile, as if he had predicted that question coming.

Instead, Usagi was the one caught in surprise, "EH?! MARRYING TAIKI…?!"

Taiki spun toward the source of the scream in time to see Usagi knocking the cups over and scorching her hand. He jumped up in alert, an action no one had expected from him, and pulled Usagi over before she could even react to the pain.

Taiki had the most panic expression Kakyuu had ever seen him wear. He never once broke his cool and composed stance whenever he was around her, no matter what she said or did. But yet, he was acting all worried and anxious over a maid's mere injury? She couldn't help but feel a slight chill of jealousy at the intimate sight before her.

"I'm fine." Usagi hissed, trying to direct Taiki's attention back to the client instead of her.

"It doesn't look fine. Your hand is very red…" Taiki told her concernedly.

"No, it's not! It's just pink. I'm fine, really! Get… get back to your work." Usagi insisted, withdrawing her hand out of his before Kakyuu grew suspicious and figured out that she and Taiki weren't really strangers, since she knew that was how Taiki was trying to make their relationship seemed like.

"But Usa-…"

"I'm really sorry! I'll call someone to clear the mess right away." Usagi interrupted Taiki with an apology.

She beamed more broadly at Taiki to let him know that she was fine before she closed the door on him.

--

* * *

--

"Seiya, are you mad at me?" Usagi asked timidly as she watched Seiya covering a cloth drenched with cold water on her reddish burned hand.

"No." Seiya replied with a straight face, not looking up at her.

"Yes, you are! You're mad at me!" Usagi insisted.

Seiya let out a deep breath before glancing up at her, startled to see her near tears expression. He couldn't understand why she would always assume that he was angry at her just because he wasn't smiling. But how could she expect him to smile when she was actually injured?

He was upset, of course, angry even, but not at her. He was exasperated at how she had injured herself despite his constant warning to stay away from running errands. Clearly, she was someone who couldn't walk five feet without finding something to trip over or run into, not to mention handling hot teas without getting scorched. And, to even think that she had hurt herself because of Taiki? How could she expect him to feel nothing about this?

"Seiya… I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me…" Usagi pleaded softly as she tugged onto his sleeve.

Seiya shook his head with a smile and planted a kiss on the back of her hand, hoping that it will ease the pain. "I was never mad at you, silly."

"You were!" Usagi insisted.

"I wasn't… I was just upset that you hurt yourself…" he denied.

"Eh? I actually made you sad?!" Usagi shrieked remorsefully, her eyes were already misty with tears.

She bit her lips, thinking of a way to cheer him up, and was caught off guard when Seiya wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her onto his lap.

"I'm fine now… So, please don't cry… I can't stand it when you cry…" He whispered and held her closely feeling guilty for upsetting her.

He never understands why he was so skilled at causing her tears. Shouldn't she be crying over her injuries instead? But no! Ultimately, he just had to be the one who upset her.

How absurd.

"I wasn't crying… the tears just came out on their own…" Usagi denied as she ran her face against his arms, drying her tears.

"Yes, you are. You are actually crying, Odango." Seiya pointed it out to her while chuckling softly.

"No, I'm not!" Usagi pouted and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Don't do that…! You just burned your hand… It'll get really troublesome if your injury get infected." Seiya stressed anxiously as he took her hand over to his.

She smiled at his caring nature, watching him applied some herbal medicine onto the back of her hand and brushed her wound gently. He kept glancing back at her periodically, awaiting some signs of pain, but her blissful expression didn't change.

"Does it hurt?"

"No." Usagi shook her head with a bright grin.

He looked back down at her hand, suspecting himself for picking up the wrong medication since there was no way that the treatment won't hurt. Either that or she was actually immune to pain.

"But I'm sure this is the right prescription…" Seiya muttered to himself as he examined the herbal medicine carefully.

Usagi giggled at his serious expression, watching him confirm the medication before wrapping bands of gauze around her entire hand.

"It's done." He finished with a satisfied smile.

"Thank you…" Usagi murmured before giving him a soft peck on his lips much to his surprise.

Startled, Seiya could only stare at the blonde who had just kissed him, unable to react for that split second.

"You always look happier whenever I kiss you… so… I thought… that somehow it will make you feel better. So, did it work? Are you upset no more?" Usagi asked eagerly while tugging onto his sleeve with a faint blush.

A muffled sound escaped Seiya's lips, before he began laughing in amazement. It wasn't entirely because of the kiss that triggered his laughter, but mostly because he found her irresistibly adorable. At times, especially now, he doubted her existence since someone as beautiful, sweet, and incredible like her couldn't have been real. But, she was. And, she proved it well by doing all sort of unpredictable or crazy things just to make him smile. Now, he could fully understand how she could even make someone as difficult as Taiki to fall for her. It was definitely not by chance. It was in her nature that she was this lovable and this perfect.

"I'm totally defeated by you. You are truly amazing, Odango." Seiya told her while giggling lightly.

"Eh? Why are you saying the same thing as Taiki? I'm definitely not amazing…" Usagi denied, shaking her hands in front of herself.

"Hmm… Taiki thinks the same huh?" Seiya dropping his laughter, murmured softly.

Usagi glanced back at him, surprised by his sudden switch of attitude, from his joyous expression to this seriousness. She had no idea what was running through his head, but she wasn't given much time to consider or even feel panic when Seiya leaned forward and embraced her.

"Seiya…?" Usagi breathed in surprise.

"Can't you just be mine only?" He asked softly, hugging her tightly against his chest.

He couldn't release her and he wasn't sure why. Maybe, it was due to the possibility that he was selfish, wanting so badly to keep this angel only to himself. As far as he knew, he wasn't the only one she would smile and be overly concerned about. He wasn't the only important person in her heart. He knew that, but he couldn't acknowledge it no matter how hard he tried.

Usagi opened her mouth to speak, but the loud thud created by the opening of the wooden door interrupted her answer.

"Usagi, are you alright? How's your hand?" Taiki asked concernedly as he proceeded across the room, while ignoring the agitated look on Seiya's face.

"I'm fine Taiki! See! Seiya bandaged it for me!" Usagi cheered happily as she extended her strapped up hand out of Seiya's embrace, showing it off to Taiki as if it was a prize she had just won.

Taiki smiled faintly at her strange enthusiasm as he took her hand over for a closer examination. Seiya, on the other hand, pressed Usagi closer against him, only allowing Taiki to examine the bandaged portion of her hand.

"You did a pretty good job dressing up the wound." Taiki forced a smile at Seiya as he gently wrapped his fingers around Usagi's wrist.

"It was nothing, really. So, will you mind letting go of her hand now that you have finished checking?" Seiya grinned back but with daggers in his eyes.

"Shouldn't you be the one releasing her instead? You might hurt her wound if you continue hugging her like that." Taiki argued, not letting go of her wrist.

"I'm not you. I don't see how I possibly could be so careless…"

Usagi sighed quietly from between, not understanding their conversation. She looked back up when they finally stop quarrelling and found Taiki looking remorsefully back at her.

"I'm sorry… I should have been more careful and not let this happen to you…" He murmured apologetically.

"Eh? No! No! I should be the one apologizing… I was careless and I even mess up your game… I'm sorry…" Usagi apologized.

"Don't be. It was my fault. I shouldn't have lured her into proposing to me when you are around…"

"Eh?! So you really want to marry the princess and become a prince?!" Usagi shrieked, jumping into conclusion.

"No, of course not! The only person I want to marry is yo-…"

"Excuse me?" Seiya cut in sharply, glaring at Taiki.

Taiki could feel his cheeks darkening by a little when he realized what he was about to say. As usual, Usagi just stared bafflingly at him, uncomprehending by the meaning of his words.

"Never mind… Just know that I've no mean on marrying her. It was only part of my scheme to get on her good side so we could progress into the palace for the scroll." Taiki explained, calming himself down.

"I'm glad…" Usagi let out a sigh of relief and added. "So, what's your other plan?"

"Joining the castle game with her recommendation letter. That will get us into the palace without any hindrance."

"Castle game? Sound exciting!" Usagi clapped happily.

"Odango, Taiki won't really be joining the castle game. He's just using it as a smoke screen." Seiya told Usagi in Taiki's place, seeing through his plot.

"Eh? But why?!" Usagi exclaimed in displeased not noticing the real malice deep in her two friends' eyes as they once again return to glaring at each other.

"We don't have the time for the castle game, Usagi." Taiki explained, dropping his rivalry mode on Seiya. "You see, a month here is a day over in our real world. And, considering that this is our third week, we can't afford to participate in a castle game that will only take place in another month or two."

"Besides, we can't stay here any longer, since Yaten and the others are most probably having a rough time with our absent." Seiya concluded.

"Eh? I don't want anything bad to happen to them! We must get the scroll fast!" Usagi shrieked anxiously.

"Relax, Odango." Seiya soothed and ran his fingers down her back in the attempt to calm her down. "I'm sure someone has already plotted the fastest way to get us to the scroll right?"

"Right." Taiki answered with a subtle smile before adding.

"Now, let us proceed with the plot…"

--

* * *

--

Yaten's expression remained blank as he followed his parents over to the raised platform where a long dining table rested. Rei and her parents were already seated with empty plates in front of them as his father swiftly made an approach.

"Ahh… It's been a long time, Seishi-san, Aya-san. How have you been lately?" His father asked in the greeting.

"Very well, Hayoku-san. I see you brought your son here today." Seishi shook Hayoku hand before glancing over at Yaten.

"Don't be rude, Yaten. Come here and greet the Hino." His mother ordered.

Yaten glowered but reluctantly went over to them without a bow or greeting.

"This is our son, Yaten. I'll assure you that he'll take good care of your daughter, Rei." His mother smiled, trying her best to hide her obvious frustration at her son's rude behaviour.

"I'm sure Yaten will make a fine husband." Rei told her parents and reached her hand out for his, but he simply ripped his hand out of hers, rejecting it as if it was poison.

"Get away from me!" Yaten demanded. "I'm not here for you! I'm here for Minako! Where is sh-…"

"You are here for my Succubus?" An arrogant sounding voice asked.

Yaten shifted his attention to the source of the voice and soon found himself glaring at Kazuka who was proceeding down the stairs. He wanted to jump and attack this man, but the heavy locks cuffed around his hands and legs restrained him.

"Minako! Where is she?! Give her back!" Yaten demanded loudly.

"Oh? That Succubus? She's undergoing a special training with a few of my good companions in the basement. But, you don't have to worry. I'm kind enough to ask them to be gentle on her since this is her first time." Kazuka declared with a cruel smirk.

"You bastard!"

Yaten ran towards Kazuka attempting to punch him, but his father caught him in time by the back of his collar and yanked him backward, causing him to fall roughly onto the marble floor.

No one made a sound at the assault. They all watched as Yaten lay quietly on the ground while his father shouted words that were inaudible to his ears. He hardly seemed to notice anything that was going on around him anymore. He had dropped his attention on everything except for his handcuffed legs and hands as he continued starting at them with hate. His desire was to be the one to save the girl he loved, but he couldn't. He chuckled softly at himself in shame, not understanding why everyone would call such worthless guy like him gifted.

"Yaten dear, are you alright?"

Slowly, he looked up only to find Rei smiling faintly down at him. He saw her reaching his hand forward to touch his face, but he didn't wince or avoid her this time round. She would get her way in the end anyways. So, why struggle? He let her touch him, despite knowing that she wasn't doing this out of concern, but rather to boast her compassionate play to the small crowd that had just formed around them.

"Pretty pathetic, aren't you?" Kazuka bended over and patted his head three times.

"You are still young, little one. You shouldn't try too hard on things that are unachievable. It'll only make you look foolish." A duke among the crowd advised with a spiteful grin.

"Enough. We are not here for insult and I don't enjoy violence either…" Seishi declared aloud, turning the crowd quiet.

Clearly, no one would want to upset this high priest who was famed for his status as the leader of the White Magic Organization. It was an association that had saved thousands of life ever since it was established. And, knowing his parents, Yaten could easily guess that forming bond with this famous organization was their true intention behind his wedding arrangement with the Hino.

He hated his parents. Not only them actually, but the entire Kou bloodline.

Besides Seiya and Taiki, all the other Kou members were the same, never doing a thing that wouldn't benefit themselves in some way. This sort of selfishness and ugliness were what he despised most about this family. As much as he wanted to save Minako, he wanted to see the destruction of the Kou's legacy, or everyone in this dining hall for that matter. But, in his present state, all these were things he could only dream of achieving.

They were too strong, all of them. He couldn't even make them budge or stop them from smirking cruelly down at him.

That was what he was thinking when a band of security officers broke the crowd formation as they hauled a young man in by his arms, dragging him into the hall.

"Let me go!"

Immediately, Yaten glanced over to the source of the familiar voice, only to catch the scene of Haruka being taken in by a group of securities.

"Haruka?!" Yaten called out to him in surprise, interrupting the guards as they tried to report Haruka for trespassing.

"Yaten…"

Haruka stopped struggling for a moment when his eyes caught his friend's shocked ones. He swallowed and his lips began to quiver, as if he was trying to convey an important message to him, but couldn't.

"You've got guts to enter my territory without permisson. young one." Kazuka stated arrogantly as he flicked out a finger and jabbed Haruka in the chest three times. "I'll make sure you get a severe punishment for this offence."

Yaten opened his mouth to protest, but Haruka unexpected chuckling shocked him and everyone speechless.

"What's so funny?" Kazuka demanded.

Haruka shook his head slowly before he glared confidently back at the crowd and Kazuka. "Instead of punishing me, shouldn't all of you be running already?"

"What?"

"You don't know how scary they truly are, don't you?" Haruka asked oddly before he dropped his head and added. "But, I do... I've witnessed them kill... It's way beyond devastation..."

He breathed with a faint grin and conveyed his final message, "They are coming... No... the Great Powers... they are already here... for your life..."

--

* * *

--

It has been a while, hasn't it? I'm happy to know that this story is loved, and I hope that you'll continue to look forward for an update. Really appreciate all the reviews I had so far. Thank you readers for writing them in :). Now, I'm pondering which stories I should update next. This, The Love Legend, or the Tale of Zodiac. I'll see you readers response then. Do click on the little button below to post a review for this chapter as well.


	19. Front Breaking

--

Last Chapter:

_"You've got guts to enter my territory without __permission, young one." Kazuka stated arrogantly as he flicked out a finger and jabbed Haruka in the chest three times. "I'll make sure you get a severe punishment for this offence."_

_Yaten opened his mouth to protest, but Haruka unexpected chuckling shocked him and everyone speechless._

_"What's so funny?" Kazuka demanded._

_Haruka shook his head slowly before he glared confidently back at the crowd and Kazuka. "Instead of punishing me, shouldn't all of you be running already?"_

_"What?"_

"_You don't know how scary they truly are, don't you?" Haruka asked oddly before he dropped his head and added. "But, I do... I've witnessed them kill... It's way beyond devastation..."_

_He breathed with a faint grin and conveyed his final message, "They are coming... No... The Great Powers... they are already here... for your life..."_

--

* * *

--

**Front Breaking**

--

Yaten stalked around numerous hallways and down several stairs till he reached a dark, ominous corridor. From the look of the dungeon looking structure, he was quite positive that he had reached the basement. He looked back, relief to find there wasn't a single soul chasing him. They couldn't, not after the unexpected arrival of a mysterious little girl who wanted Kazuka's head. He had taken this as an opportunity to escape and locate Minako.

Despite the burden of the chains locked around his hands and legs, he managed to quicken his pace and apprehensively ran about, peeking about each empty chamber till he felt a strange demonic aura coming from the distance. He spun around and faced the direction where it came from.

Something didn't seem right here.

That was what his body was telling him as it tried holding him back from proceeding further. Nevertheless, his worried mind disagreed, urging him to find Minako.

Following the aura, he found a large old looking wooden door at the bottom of broken, stone stairs. He raised his fist, throwing the door opened with a loud crash, and the scene of Minako gripping a man by his collar while pressing her lips against his was what he burst into.

"Mi-Minako…"

Yaten's mouth hung opened, appalled by the sight before him. This wasn't happening! There was no way Minako would voluntarily kiss another man with such hunger and passion. But she was, and it felt worse when he realized that he could do nothing to stop her.

Noticing his presence, Minako broke the kiss and released the already unconscious man. She uncaringly dropped him to the ground, letting his body join the several motionless ones that were scattered around her.

She stared oddly at him as though she couldn't recognize him, making Yaten winced in pain. This wasn't the Minako he knew. Who was she? Her beautiful pair of blue orbs wasn't giving off their usual kindness anymore. Instead, they were buried with callousness and insensitivity.

"Are you with them?" She asked, pointing to the group of unconscious men on the ground.

Yaten's eyes widened at her question as his lips began to quiver. "Minako... You can't recognize me?"

"Minako?"

She furrowed her brows and stared down at herself for the first time, noticing the ripped clothes she was wearing and the many bruises and cuts on her nearly bare body.

She smiled lightly and shook her head, "Oh yes, I remember now. I'm Minako Aino… Thanks to all these foolish men who tried raping me, I've finally awakened. And, look at what they've done to my body…"

"All these disgusting creatures…" Minako glanced angrily down at the group of unconscious men, intending to steal more of their life energy so as to heal the wounds on her body.

"I'm sorry…"

Her eyes shot up to Yaten's, baffled by his apologies. She cocked her head at him, not understanding why he was apologizing. She noticed the anguish in his eyes, but she wasn't moved by his sadness. Man was just food for her, and this young man standing before her was not exception.

"It's my fault that you got hurt… that you became like this… I'm sorry… I'm sorry that I failed to protect you… I'm so sorry…" Yaten breathed with guilt and misery trapped in his eyes.

She smiled uncaringly at him, "I can sense that you are a pretty powerful psychic. Give me your energy for my wounds if you are really sorry then…"

Yaten peered incredulously at her, and her mouth covered his before he could even agree. He froze at the kiss, hardly believing that it was real. The past Minako would never allow him to kiss her, because getting engaged in a kiss with a Succubus could be vital, and as compassionate as she was, she didn't want him to get involved with anything dangerous, not even her.

His relationship with Minako was indeed a sad one. Despite their love for each other, they could never do what a normal couple does or openly show their affection to one another. But why? Why was it even wrong to say a simple 'I love you'? Why couldn't they be together?

Yaten could feel his body weakening from the kiss, but he didn't resist. If that would make her happy and heal her injuries, he would let her draw all his energy from him. He was even willing to die for her if that would turn her back to the old Minako he once knew. But there was no turning back. She had already evolved into a true Succubus who craved for nothing but power.

Seeing that her injuries were now fully healed, Minako broke the kiss, but Yaten held her back to him, not allowing her to leave his side. He didn't want this kiss to end and to let her go, but he didn't have the strength to. He could barely even stand as one of his knees gave way to the floor.

"You want to die this badly?" She breathed against his lips.

"Don't leave me…" He pleaded and hugged her with all the remaining strength he had left.

But, Minako just shook her head. "There's no reason for me to stay."

With a light push, she broke the embrace and Yaten was shoved gently to the ground. Adding to his lack of strength was the heavy chains locked around his hands and legs. There wasn't much he could do now besides calling out her name and watching a pair of Succubus wings sprout out from her back.

For all these years, he had avoided training or exploiting her, using whatever it took to prevent her from awaking her true self, a full fledged Level 4 demon with powers so strong that it would erase her former identity, replacing her with a heartless character.

--

"_Level 4 was perhaps the most powerful demon or guardian one would ever want to obtain as a shaman or necromancer. Not only were level 4 rare, they never or rarely served under anyone as minions because of their callous nature, and supreme ability to even surpassed the strength of an elite psychic." – Story fact._

--

His fear was becoming a reality now, wasn't it? She was leaving him for real, wasn't she? But Yaten wasn't ready to give her up just like this. He didn't want to let her go despite knowing that she might even end up killing him.

"Minako…" He breathed out to her.

Her eyes flew back to his at the call. She watched as he struggled to get back up, his hand reached out for her, but as his body left the floor, he staggered over, falling to his knees.

"Sayonara (Farewell)." Minako parted and turned away from him.

There he laid, watching her flew and fading into the distance before she completely disappeared from his sight.

--

* * *

--

At the entrance of the Heian Palace stationed a troop of Imperial guards stopping the trio of strangers from bypassing into the State Castle.

"I'm Taiki Kou, one of the participants for the coming castle game. This is my letter of approval from Your Highness." Taiki introduced, directing a piece of paper politely over to the head guard.

The captain took the letter over from him, eyeing at them suspiciously before opening the envelope to examine the document. His eyes were seen enlarging in surprise when he noticed the imperial mark stamped at the very bottom of the letter, permitting their entry into the palace. But the head guard hesitated, not believing that someone as young as Taiki was actually eligible to participate in the grand castle game.

"Though this piece of letter is valid, I couldn't just let all of you in so easily. How would I know whether this wasn't a stolen piece?"

"We didn't steal it! Taiki really got it from the Princess!" Usagi shrieked as the guards eyed oddly at her, thinking that she sounded rather girly for a man.

Just like Seiya and Taiki, the present Usagi had her long, blonde hair tied back into a low ponytail. Despite her short height, she looked pleasantly charming in a man's hakama, making them an attractive trio that was generally loved by the ladies while hated by the men.

Though Usagi wasn't fond of the strange attention, she didn't mind disguising as a man since it was Taiki's idea to hide her female identity. She would follow whatever plan Taiki had in mind, trusting and knowing that he would definitely obtain the Imperial Scroll of Muromachi to get them back home. But, little did Usagi know, the reasons behind her disguise were to prevent her from getting any unnecessary harassment and to trick Princess Kakyuu into allowing her to enter the palace with him.

Taiki cleared his throat, reminding Usagi to add appropriately. She gasped when she realized that she wasn't supposed to be shrieking like that.

"No, we didn't steal the letter, sir. It was given to Taiki by the Princess, herself. You can check with Your Highness if you still suspect us." Usagi corrected her manner, deepening her voice with much effort.

This made Seiya and Taiki giggled softly at her strange acting skill, finding her absolutely adorable for trying to look serious and manly for their sake.

The head guard continued to question them, making Seiya groaned impatiently at their persistent questioning. He nudged Taiki with his elbow, quietly asking him to come up with a plan to get them past the noisy guards.

But Taiki just smiled back coolly and pointed his index finger to the grand gate, gesturing at the approaching red carriage. The troop of guards immediately lowered their heads as Princess Kakyuu exited the transport together an older gentlemen.

"Taiki-san!" Kakyuu called out excitedly and she would have flung herself over to him if it wasn't for the presence of her administrator.

"Greetings, Your Highness." Taiki greeted her with a light bow and Usagi followed accordingly.

Seiya, on the other hand, just looked away in disgust, not bothering to show his respect to this so-called princess. Formalities were never something he enjoyed, and he made no attempt to cover his dislikes.

The counsellor frowned at Seiya's cold attitude towards his princess, but before he could open his mouth to protest, Kakyuu cut in quickly, eager to introduce Taiki to him.

"Counsellor Junichiro, this is Taiki-san, he's the one I'm recommending for the coming castle game."

"It's my pleasure to meet you Counsellor Junichiro."

Junichiro wrinkled his face in dislike at the sight of Taiki. He couldn't understand why his princess would favour someone who was not part of any royal family. Besides, he seemed a little too young to be considered as a professional dan, let alone participate in the great castle game.

"What about those two?" Junichiro asked, glancing over to Seiya and Usagi.

"They are my personal bodyguards, Sir." Taiki replied immediately.

"Bodyguards?" Junichiro frowned at him. "You don't need any bodyguards here. The Heian Palace is protected by the finest securities. Dismiss them! I can't allow anymore suspicious intruders to enter the palace."

Usagi pouted at his remark, but before she could open her mouth to protest, Taiki raised her hand at her, silently telling her that he would handle the situation.

"Sir, as much as you don't trust me, I couldn't trust the Palace's securities either." Taiki argued with a cool smile.

"What nonsense!" Junichiro raged, making Kakyuu jerked at his sudden raise of anger. "Compared to the two weak looking guards of yours, our defenders are all fully geared and trained! Their defence are flawless!"

"Flawless? But sir, I just happen to know that there was an assassin who invaded into the palace last night and injured one of the ministers… He must be one godly assassin to be able to break through such 'flawless' defence, don't you agree?" Taiki commented sarcastically.

Junichiro's jaw dropped with shock, and his hands clutched with rage at his statement. How did he know about the assassination? Not many knew, and those who did aren't supposed to be talking about it. So, it just seemed impossible that an outsider like Taiki would know, unless of course, if he was the assassinator. Even Kakyuu was shocked speechless but before she could question him, Taiki, as quick as he was, answered simply.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I'm not the assassin, and I've got a hundred guests, at least, to be my alibi." Taiki explained as he politely handed a crumbled piece of paper over to Kakyuu. "I was informed about the attempted assassination by this notice that was on the capital's announcement board this morning. And, it seems like every citizens in Kyoto knows about it…"

Kakyuu took the notice over and her eyes widened at the outrageous announcement. She quickly apologized to Taiki for her suspicion while Junichiro ordered his men to investigate and control the rumour before it start to terrorize the whole of Japan.

However, they wouldn't know or discover that everything was plotted by Taiki, from the attempted assassination to the roaming rumours. It was all a scheme to counter any confrontation brought up to prevent Seiya and Usagi from entering the palace. And, with Seiya's capabilities to carry out the make believe assassination, there was no doubt that Taiki's plot would flow according.

Now that he had successfully created a mess for the authority to worry, there would be lesser obstacles standing in their way to get into the palace.

Taiki smiled confidently back at his two friends as they hopped into a carriage that was meant to transport them to the Eastern Palace of Heian where all the participants would gather.

Throughout the journey, Seiya definitely wasn't bothered by the on-going chattering between Taiki and Kakyuu as he slept his way through. Even when the carriage jerked after running over a pebble, he was still asleep. He hadn't gotten much rest last night after his mission to sneak in and out of the palace to assist Taiki's plot. Usagi peered concernedly at him, fearing that the constant bumping might disturb his precious sleep. She wanted to ask the coachman to slow down the pace, but she didn't know how she could request that with Kakyuu staring suspiciously at her.

Usagi looked away uneasily, hoping that the princess won't recognize her. She almost jerked when Kakyuu asked her for her name. She knew she should be answering her immediately, but she couldn't introduce herself as Usagi, could she? It would sound really weird since she was playing a boy role here.

"His name is Akatsuki…" Taiki replied simply on Usagi's behalf.

Usagi nodded keenly and looked down, avoiding her stare.

"You look really familiar, Akatsuki-san. Have we met before?" Kakyuu asked and glimpsed down at her, wanting to catch a better look at her.

She shook her head, still not meeting her gaze.

"Your Highness, you must have mistaken him for his twin sister who served you the other night… The two of them look identical."

Despite Taiki's clarification, the suspicion in Kakyuu refused to vanish, but she didn't push the issue further since she didn't think it was necessary to expose Usagi for the time being. Besides, she won't want to do anything reckless with Taiki around. Someone as brilliant as him could easily turn whatever accuses on Usagi into plain logic. So, it would be meaningless to try uncovering her identity with him around right?

The carriage soon arrived at the entrance of the Eastern Palace as Usagi turned to Seiya and started shaking his shoulder.

"Seiya, wake up… We have arrived…"

Seiya lifted his eyelids and looked tiredly at her for a second. Usagi's lips slid downward. He looked terribly exhausted and she didn't like him looking like that.

"I'm fine... So, you don't give me that look." He offered her a tiny smile and patted her on the head, hoping that would erase the fret in her eyes.

"Seiya-kun, if you need more sleep, you can proceed to your room first. I have no problem attending the assembly with Akatsuki-kun." Taiki suggested slyly.

Seiya forced an innocent smile, "That's really thoughtful of you, Taiki-dono. But, how can I be so irresponsible and not protect you for such an important meeting?"

--

"_The term –dono is __traditionally used to address one's master or superior." – Japanese naming customs._

--

Usagi frowned at Seiya's rebellion, but he just smiled and took her by the hand as he led her out of the carriage.

"Seiya, wait…" Usagi hissed and stopped him, reminding him that he should be protecting Taiki instead of her.

Seiya growled impatiently, ignoring both Taiki and Kakyuu who were climbing out of the carriage. But he did tilt his head back at them when he felt Usagi tugging his sleeve, silently asking him to response to the princess' call.

"Have I done anything to offend you, Seiya-san? You don't seem to like me very much…" Kakyuu asked, looking up at him.

Never in her life had she met someone who would ignore her like how Seiya did. She was well-loved by everyone in the Imperial palace since she was the wittiest, most beautiful and sophisticated one among the six princesses. She was even famed as the Emperor's favourite daughter. So, there should be no reason why anyone would disregard or dislike her right?

"Your Highness, I don't even know you well enough to say I don't like you. Besides, would I dare to? You are the princess." Seiya told her, smiling harmlessly.

While Taiki sighed quietly, Usagi bit her lips at the sarcasm coming out from Seiya's mouth. They understood him well enough to know when he was or when he wasn't in a good mood. And definitely, he wasn't having a pleasant one now, and besides that fake smile he was wearing, he made no other effort to cover his irritation.

But instead of getting angered, Kakyuu giggled at his remark, "Taiki-san, you are really amazing to have such a brave young man like Seiya-san as your bodyguard."

Taiki grinned lightly at her remark but said nothing. He just continued to follow the servants down several gardens, into various hallways and gates before they reached the huge assembly hall where all the Go competitors gathered in. The place was already collected with participants seated at their respective spaces. Everyone turned to look at them the moment they stepped a foot in, and immediately raised from their seats and greeted the princess as she made her way over to the raised platform where the shogun sat looking down at her.

The general only glanced over at the three teenagers behind Kakyuu after they had greeted him.

"So, he's the one you're recommending?" The shogun asked, pointing his index at Taiki.

Kakyuu turned toward him and nodded.

"What about the other two gentlemen with him? Commoners aren't allowed in the palace without the official recognition. Tell me, why should I allow them to remain here?"

"Because they are the finest samurai in the country, Your Excellency." Taiki replied with confident.

"Finest you said?" The shogun raised his brows before extending out his finger at them. "Very well! If they can take down all the imperial guards in this hall, I shall permit them to remain here with you."

He clapped his hands twice and men from all around the corners stepped in as ordered. They surrounded the three teenagers in a circle and drew their swords at them.

Usagi lifted her hand up innocently, "Are we supposed to kill them?"

"No!" Seiya and Taiki answered promptly together before sighing.

Usagi pouted and waited for further instruction. Though she couldn't quite understand their current situation, she knew it wasn't anything nice. Only enemies would draw their weapons and point it at her and her friends' right? So why couldn't she kill them? Or was this part of Taiki's plan too?

"Step back, Odango." Seiya ordered and stood in front of her protectively.

As much as he knew her capabilities, he didn't like Usagi to get involve in any fight. Yes, she was fearless and powerful, but she was equally careless and clumsy. She could even hurt herself while serving tea, so what made her think she could fight all these soldiers without carelessly getting numerous cuts on her?

"Don't hurt them too much, Seiya-kun." Taiki reminded with a faint smile while he held Usagi back by her arm much to her displease.

"I'll try not to." Seiya shrugged before turning back to the soldiers around him.

He gestured a thumb down arrogantly, taunting them to attack him. This fascinated the shogun and Kakyuu as they watched the troop charged and raised their swords angrily at Seiya.

Seiya smirked to himself and reached for the handle of his sword while, at the same time, activating his PK power. Besides Taiki, everyone dropped their jaws at the scene of Seiya sending the circle of guards flying back as he withdrew his blade at them.

Besides the loud landing of the bodies, no other sound was heard. With just one look, it was clear who the victor was, but no members of the palace could make any logical judgement now since Seiya had shocked all coherent thoughts out of their heads. Did they just witness someone sending a troop of twenty men flying with just a lift of his sword? That couldn't be humanly possible, could it?

While most of the them was trying to figure out an appropriate explanation, Usagi was busy poking an unconscious guard with the round edge of her sword.

"He's still alive." She told Seiya, sounding a little disappointed.

"Of course he is. I barely used ten percent of my strength." Seiya announced with a sigh as he went over to Usagi and took her by the hand, bringing her back to him.

"You are too kind, Seiya. You spare their lives even though they were mean to you…" Usagi smiled at him.

He patted her on the head at the remark before adding sarcastically, "No, I'm not. I spared them because Taiki-dono ordered me to. He's the real hero, not me."

"Me? No… I can't be compared to such a great samurai like you, Seiya-kun. I should be the one feeling grateful to have you around." Taiki played along as the two men forced a smile at one another.

"Yes, yes! That's superb! Really! Please enlighten me on how you do it." The shogun interrupted and clapped his hands at Seiya.

"That's a secret technique that deals a total of ninety-nine hits in a single strike. And, only Seiya-kun knows how to perform such a magnificent swordplay." Taiki informed on Seiya's behalf.

Usagi applauded, looking even more amazed than the shogun and Kakyuu were at that moment. She would have asked them about this so-called secret technique if it wasn't for the shogun prompt request, wanting their assist to hunt down the notorious fox witch.

Everyone knew the story about the evil two-tailed fox. She, who had the ability to assume human form, transformed herself into a courtesan, and was said to be the most beautiful and intelligent woman in Japan. Charmed by her beauty, the emperor fell deeply in love with her.

But after some time had passed, the emperor got terribly ill, and a top astrologer told him that she was the cause of the illness. He explained that she was a wicked two-tailed fox, who was making him ill in a devious plot to take the throne. Following this, the Imperial court sent the best warriors to hunt her down, but she managed to escape from the palace and even took the Imperial Scroll of Muromachi along with her.

"You are saying that the scroll is with the fox witch now?" Usagi asked immediately once they got into their room after the assembly dismissal.

Now that she had heard about the story behind the hunt for _Tamamo-no-mae_, she was surprised to know that the scroll was currently with the fox witch.

Taiki nodded, "And with her ability to shape-shift, she has most probably transformed into someone else."

"And I suppose you know who she might be now." Seiya assumed as he settled down his sword.

Taiki kept quiet and just smiled mysteriously at his question. It was rather obvious that he knew the answer already since there weren't many mysteries he couldn't solve or things he won't know about.

"I'll take that as a 'yes' then." Seiya muttered.

"Who is she?! Who is she?!" Usagi asked eagerly and tugged on Taiki's sleeve.

"She is…"

His answer was cut off by a small knock from the door. A woman was heard greeting them from the outside before Taiki walked over and slid open the shoji. As expected, he found a maid bowing with her head low before him as she directed a piece of letter out to him.

"Here, sir. Princess Kakyuu would like to invite you over tonight." The short maid announced to him in a meek voice.

Taiki took the letter over and thanked her before he closed the door. He didn't bother reading it as he uncaringly tossed it down the table. Curious, Usagi reached forward for the abandoned letter, but a hand enclosed her wrist and stopped her before she could make contact with the white envelope.

"It's dangerous to touch an object given by the fox witch." Taiki muttered in a serious voice.

Startled, Usagi just gaped back at him as she thought over his words, and it did take her a few good seconds to generate what he was trying to put through.

"Ah! I see!" She hit her fist against her palm and nodded understandably to herself.

"Ha! If the princess is really the fox witch, we can forget about getting the scroll. To keep Taiki by her side, she'd most likely tie him onto a tree or poisons him like how she did to the emperor. " Seiya guessed casually.

"Eh? The fox witch will actually do that to Taiki?" Usagi shrieked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Usagi. She isn't evil." Taiki consoled.

"She isn't?"

"From what I know, the village she has been protecting for a hundred year was demolished by the Imperial army during a war which was why she wants her revenge on the emperor." Taiki explained briefly.

"Revenge? But, she's just a two tail kitsune. She can't possibly defeat the two most powerful warriors protecting the emperor." Seiya shrugged.

--

"_Kitsune is the Japanese word__ for fox. Physically, kitsune were noted for having as many as nine tails. A greater number of tails indicated an older and more powerful fox." – Story myth._

--

"Eh? Are the warriors really that strong?"

Taiki smiled faintly, "We aren't the only psychics here, Usagi. There are plenty out there, even in this era. The Emperor's two personal guards, Katsune and Murai, are just a few of them."

Usagi nodded her head as she tried to absorb the information. She was completely oblivious over all these, and like usual, she got no idea how Taiki knew. It had always occurred o her that he was infinitely knowledgeable in all subjects, and there was no question he couldn't answer, no mystery he couldn't solve. Though she couldn't read his mind, she knew she could trust his plan into obtaining the scroll from the kitsune despite the obstacles ahead.

--

As the day quickly came to a close with bed time just around the corner, Usagi found herself having difficulties on getting Seiya to rest on the futon that she had set up for him. She wanted him to have some sleep, since he hadn't had any decent rest for a week at least. But he refused and insisted on following Taiki, who had asked them to stay behind before leaving upon the princess' request.

"No, no, no! I go! You sleep!" Usagi shrieked as she held him back by his arm.

Seiya sighed and looked down at her, "I don't need any rest, Odango. Besides, what makes you think I'd even let you venture out alone?"

Usagi pouted, "You sleep! I can help out too!"

"How? By getting lost?" Seiya giggled incredulously.

"I won't get lost!"

She attempted to glare at him, but he seemed to be ignoring that look as he hauled her into his arms easily, and the next thing she knew, he had already tugged her into the futon much to her displease. She would have jumped out from the mattress if Seiya hadn't kept both hands on her shoulders. She pouted at him, but he only smiled in return. He leaned forward and patted her lightly on the head after whispering, "Ohyasumi (Good night), Odango."

Usagi latched her hands around his arms before he could even retreat, "No! No! You're not going anywhere tonight!"

"Be reasonable, Odango. You need your rest." Seiya pointed out.

"You're the unreasonable one here! You haven't had any good sleep for days already! And, that's not good for your health!" Usagi shrieked astonishingly at him.

"My health is fine." Seiya denied.

"It won't be if you keep this up." Usagi argued strictly.

A few seconds of deep silence went by. Neither of them was willing to give in to the others request. Obviously the couple shared many traits, caring for each other was one, whereas stubbornness was another. While Seiya was afraid that she would venture out alone if he slept, Usagi was worried that his body would break down if he doesn't. As much as she was concerned about Taiki meeting the kitsune alone, she wasn't sure if she could handle Seiya collapsing because of exhaustion.

"Unless you agree to sleep, I'm not letting go!" She reached out and entangled him in a tight embrace to keep him from leaving.

She had expected him to resist, but instead he pressed her tightly into his chest much to her surprise.

"Then don't." He whispered.

Usagi froze at the sound of his last two words. She couldn't believe that he was hugging her back instead of defying. Seiya took this opportunity to pull her away with him as he leaned against the side of the wall and settled her against his chest. He surrounded her thin frame with his long legs and wrapped his arms around her abdomen. Usagi relaxed, letting him keep her there as he rested his chin on her shoulder. The rise and fall of his chest was comfortable but not enough to lull her to sleep.

"Are you worried about Taiki?" Seiya asked, guessing her reason to remain awake.

Usagi nodded honestly.

"Then, the more you should let me go after him."

"But Taiki forbid us to follow. He said that he won't be able to get the scroll if he doesn't go alone."

"That genius..." Seiya sighed heavily. "He's acting strange…"

No matter how Seiya thought about it, he just couldn't find any reason why Taiki didn't want them to follow and guard him from a close distance. Though he seemed pretty confident that he would get the scroll as promised, he wasn't the kind of guy to abandon his friends from such an important mission, unless if there was a possible danger ahead; one so deadly that it might cost a person's life.

"Is he doing something dangerous?" Usagi asked as she stared worriedly up at Seiya.

"I'll never forgive him if he did." Seiya cursed between his breaths.

Without another word, he quickly aided Usagi up as he led her out of the room with haste.

--

At the other end of the Imperial Palace, a princess was busy observing the young man seated before her. Kakyuu watched as Taiki placed his next piece of black stone on the wooden Go board. She noticed that he wasn't playing like how he usually would. He seemed aggressive, playing only offence which was unlike his usual defensive tactic.

"What's wrong, Taiki-san? You're not acting like yourself in this game."

Taiki nodded mysterious, "Yes, it sure isn't easy trying to be someone else, isn't it?"

She smiled and pretended to be oblivious of what he was implying as she reached out for a white stone. "Knowing too much won't do you any good, Taiki-san."

"Thank you, Your Highness. I'll take that as an advice." Taiki smiled calmly back.

Kakyuu giggled at his reply, "You are really something, Taiki-san. But, I still don't get why someone as brilliant as you would be protecting such a weak girl…"

"Pardon me, Your Highness. But I don't remember protecting any weak girl." Taiki denied even though he knew that she was referring to Usagi.

"Oh? But, aren't you with her a moment ago?"

"Your Highness, I think you've misunderstood me. Yes, there is a girl I want to protect, but she isn't weak… To be precise, she's much stronger than me."

Kakyuu laughed, "No way!"

Taiki's face was serious for once, his eyes were expressionless and his lips formed a straight line. The shadows of the room played with the faint candle light making Taiki look twice as stern.

"She is, Your Highness." He told her firmly.

Kakyuu kept quiet, taken back by his sternness. This was her second time seeing him this serious, and both times, it was because of Usagi. She couldn't figure out what he saw in her, what she had that could make him overreact.

"Your Highness, Is there anything else you'd like to ask?"

"I'm sure you can guess what is on my mind, since you seem to know almost everything." She replied seductively and extended her hand out to his face.

He grabbed her gently by the wrist before she could make contact to his cheek. He smiled as his eyes followed her hand to her arm, then down to the pair of fox tails that were exposing out from the back of her kimono.

"Do all kitsune bear such fair skin?" Taiki smirked sarcastically and released her hand.

The smile on Kakyuu's face disappeared as she climbed over the Go board table and leaned forward to his ear. "Since when did you find out?"

"Since the moment I first saw you as Princess Kakyuu…" He whispered with a false grin. "A real princess can't and don't have the ability to leave the palace unless she possesses the power of a kitsune."

She laughed and shook her head in disbelief, "I guess it's my mistake for visiting you then."

"I'll still hunt you down even if you didn't…"

"I thought you already have a girl you like. Why do you still need an abandoned kitsune like me? What is it you want?" Kakyuu asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"The Scroll of Muromachi."

Comprehension struck Kakyuu with full force. Her mouth slid open in shock. She moved herself away from him with a solemn look on her face. "I'm afraid I know nothing about it."

"It's the scroll that you stole from the palace…"

"I didn't steal it! It's originally ours till the state soldiers invaded into our village and took it from us! I'm only taking back what that belongs to my people!" Kakyuu burst out, gasping immediately after realizing what she had just told him.

"I know…" Taiki replied calmly.

"You knew?" She looked surprisingly back at him. "Then, you should know that it isn't the original piece…"

"Yes, I do know that the real scroll was lost and the present one you're protecting is just a replica created by the high priest from your village. But, it still possesses the same power."

"It doesn't! This duplicate is dangerous! Do you know how many life it has taken? My entire village died trying to use it!" Kakyuu exclaimed.

Indeed, it wasn't an easy job protecting something she hated. No matter how much she desired to, she couldn't destroy her country sacred treasure. She didn't know how to, and the only thing she could do now was to protect everyone from getting hurt by it.

"What about a trade then? Your duplicate for the original scroll." Taiki offered.

"What? The original? Ho-how-…" Kakyuu paused, unable to continue as she stared startlingly back.

"It's not with me now. But if you'd let me use the duplicate, you'll definitely get the original back… because only one Scroll of the Muromachi could exist at different era." He explained briefly before continuing, "To ease the burden you've been carrying for the past hundred years, you want it back, don't you?"

"Of course I do! But, you can't be serious…" She shook her head in disbelief. "Taiki-san… I'm sure you know that, unlike the original, this duplicate is dangerous. It consumes the body of whoever that requests to use it…"

"Then, it can have my body." He replied without any hesitation.

Kakyuu slammed her fists against the table, jumping up to her feet. She shook her head disapprovingly, and narrowed her eyes at him, wondering whether he even spared a thought for himself. What kind of a guy would voluntarily allow an evil spirit to possess him? But, it was her defeat. There was no reason why she should reject his offer. She needed the original and he needed the duplicate. So, why was she hesitating?

"Before I hand the scroll over to you, may I know why are you doing this? To sacrifice everything for that girl… Don't you care about yourself at all?"

Taiki smiled mysteriously while shaking his head, "You're wrong. The reason I'm sacrificing is not because I don't care about myself, but because I don't want to be the one to see her cry. Yes, I know she'll be upset after she learnt about this, but it'll hurt her ten times more if Seiya was gone instead. Maybe I'm just selfish… I really don't wish to witness her crying for him again…"

Kakyuu was quiet, digesting what he had just said. That had surprised her more than anything he had said earlier. She never thought that someone as cool as Taiki would have such a sentimental side. She did like this side of him a lot even though she knew that he would only display such affection for Usagi.

"Besides, I've promised her that I'd bring her home… And, even though my sacrifice might trigger the_ other side _of Akatsuki, I still have to keep my promise…" Taiki added grimly.

"The other side?"

She looked oddly at him, trying to figure out what he meant. He smiled back without giving her a clue or hint that would help her understand what he was referring to. Remaining silent, he extended his hand out to her, quietly asking for the duplicated scroll that would start a disastrous event.

--

* * *

--

Members of the Kous and their guests were all caught in a moment of silence at the arrival of a mysterious little girl, probably at the age of 12, standing before Haruka. She was dressed in a Gothic Lolita fashion, dark shoulder length hair and long black dress reaching down to her ankles. Together with the black umbrella and coffin-shaped violin case she was holding, she did look like a doll of death from afar.

"Agriatou... Onii-san…" the little girl thanked Haruka politely for guiding her here.

"Uh-um…" Haruka nodded, not knowing how to react to her unexpected appreciation.

He looked away uneasily, finding that the guards who were previously holding onto him backing away to Kazuka's side after the anonymous girl said something about wanting to take his life. Soon, the crowd broke the silence with laughter at that ridiculous claim.

"Is this some kind of a joke? Which idiot would send a weak little girl like you to kill me?" Kazuka laughed.

"Satan an idiot?" The girl asked softly.

"What?"

"Yonkou… Ma sensei… no idiot…"

Kazuka flinched at the name mention as he extended a shaky finger at her. "W-who are you? H-how did you know Ma-sama?"

"Watashiwa Hotaru desu…"

"Ho-Hotaru… from the Great Power?" Kazuka muttered and stared at her for a while, wide-eyed and terrified.

His heart raced swiftly in a mixture of agony and fear. Sweats had somehow formed around his forehead and he could feel the liquid trailing off his chin. And, it did take him a moment to realize that he was also screaming.

Taken aback, almost everyone gathered around and aided the frightened man. At that moment, none could understand his fear and his rapid shivering concerned them. His wide, frightened eyes remained locked at Hotaru as she stared expressionlessly back at him. Though he hadn't met any of the Nine Great Powers before, he knew whom that name, Hotaru, belonged to.

--

"_Hotaru, also __referred to as the last Musician, was one of the members of the Great Power. While her last name and past remained as a mystery, she was famed as a prodigy in both music and literature at a very young age. _

_However, unlike any other music prodigies, Hotaru was more than just exceptional. She was a unique levelled psychic who can manipulate the melody she played into a massacre weapon to eradicate any who listen to her piece. It was said that she was capable of playing 13 different types of deadly composition, making her a terrifying opponent despite her young age._

_Like the other descendants of the Great Powers, little was known about her. But, rumours claimed that she held great respect for the Twin, Akatsuki and Yuumei, and despite her usual slow and imprecise way of speaking, she tended to speak clearly and accurately when provoked." – Story facts_

--

"Run! She's one of the Great Powers! She's here to kill us!" Kazuka shouted frantically to those around him.

This shocked everyone into silence, including the leader of the White Magic Organization, Seishi. He had heard about how scary a member of the Great Powers could be. They were said to be so exaggerating strong that most believed their existence were only rumors spread by Satan to make the organization appeared much more dominating than they already were. Besides, it was really hard to believe that a delicate looking little girl like her could be of such threat.

He wanted a confirmation without hurting the little Hotaru, but before he could decide on what to do with her, Yaten's father, Hayoku had already summoned a row of robotic men to attack her.

"Back… Onii-san…" Hotaru whispered.

While Haruka nodded and evaded into a safe distance, he watched from the corner of his eyes as the violin case which Hotaru was holding unpredictably evolved into a huge black shield, deflecting the coming bullets back to the robots. Hotaru's face remained straight as she leaped front together with the flying bullets.

All eyes widened with shock when razor sharp blades were seen protruding out of the corners of her violin casing. She swung her unique weapon at the necks of the robots, destroying the machines instantly after the bullets had shot their vital parts.

A gasp erupted from the crowd. It was impossible for anyone, not to mention, a little girl to take down all the robots with such ease. So, she was really the Great Powers then? But, that doesn't mean they would all be defeated right? There were more than 30 professional psychics and magic users present. They could definitely take her on if they attack together, couldn't they?

But, a sudden giggling coming from no where interrupted their thoughts.

"Ganging up on a little girl… that's not very honourable neh?"

Everyone turned towards the source of the giggle, shocked to find a brunette who looked exactly like Usagi standing behind Hotaru. While everyone was utterly shocked by her sudden appearance, a wide smile instantly flashed across Hotaru's face.

"Yuumei-sama!" The inexpressive little girl cheered and flung herself to Yuumei much to everyone's surprise.

Yuumei smiled at this as she patted Hotaru on the head. The little girl continued hugging her heroine in an unwilling state to let her go. Yuumei seemed to be fine with her strange obsession as she took a few steps forward while dragging Hotaru behind her.

"Tsukino?! H-how? How is it possible? When did you escape?" Kazuka was the first to burst out as he glanced around wildly, fearing that Seiya and Taiki would suddenly appear behind him.

He didn't think he could handle anymore of this nonsense. First was the Great Power, now, a dark-headed Usagi? Wait! Usagi was with Satan? Was she after his life too? But she seemed as innocent as ever with that cheery smile spread across her pretty face. Just like Hotaru, she appeared harmless, but they couldn't just judge her innocence by her appearance alone, could they? Besides, with Hotaru hugging so dearly onto her, it was clear that she was definitely not siding them.

"The Aces? Are you really Usagi Tsukino?" Rei asked boldly.

"Wrong."

Yuumei had her forehead covered with her hand and shook her head before looking back up at them with a delightful smile.

"Aces jya nai… Great Powers desu… (I'm not with the Aces, but the Great Powers.) Watashiwa Yuumei Furinji desu! Yoroshiku! (I'm Yuumei Furinji, nice to meet you.)"

The crowd burst into murmurs at her introduction. Some shook their heads in disbelief while others held fear in their eyes at such proclaim. On the other hand, Yuumei didn't seem to be affected by their reaction as she smiled pleasantly at them.

"You shouldn't be bullying Hotaru-chan. You won't like it if she starts playing the violin. All of you might die listening to it neh?"

"We've no intention to hurt anyone here. We are just defending ourselves." Seishi stepped in and answered on everyone's behalf.

"From?" Yuumei asked innocently.

"Satan, of course! Aren't the Great Powers here to take on us, the White Magic Organization?"

"No." She replied simply.

"No?"

Yuumei shrugged, "Daddy didn't tell me anything about this organization. He just asked me to kill off the people responsible for sending spies into our HQ."

Seconds flew by with no sound. Everyone just stood there with their eyes wide open and their mouths even wider while Yuumei stared back, still smiling harmlessly.

"Yo-oh! The two Ossan over there." Yuumei waved cheerily at Hayoku and Kazuka. "We've already taken down 101 of your men who were directly and indirectly involved. And now, I just need both of your life to complete my mission. Will you please kill yourself for me? I didn't bring a spare pair of gloves and I don't wish to dirty my hands."

--

"_Ossa__n is an informal addressing to an older man." – Japanese naming system._

--

While Hayoku and his wife yelled back repulsive words at her statement, Kazuka swallowed nervously as he tried to calm himself down. Yes, initially, he planned to work with the Kous to spy on Satan, but he had given up this thought already after witnessing how extremely powerful the Youkou really was. Fearing them and fearing death, he faked the Kous, and devoted himself into serving the Youkou as one of their insignificant slaves. He had even obtained the sacred treasure and captured the wanted Aces. So, he shouldn't be the one dying right?

"No, no! This is a misunderstanding, Furinji-sama! It's all the Kou's idea! I'm not with them!"

"Kazuka Hino! What are you saying?!" Hayoku burst out at him.

Kazuka ignored him and shoved his way out of the crowd. He stumbled up across and held out the Scroll of Muromachi to the two girls. "Here! I even got the sacred scroll Ma-sama wanted. An-And… the three Aces are inside! I've captured them in there as well!"

Yuumei lowered her face slowly and took the scroll over from Kazuka. "Ehhh… You captured the Aces?"

"Yuumei-sama?" Hotaru called out softly.

The little girl looked up, watching her heroine dropped her smile while staring at the imperial scroll in her hand. Sensing danger, Hotaru quickly released her grip and back away.

"This scroll! It proves my loyalty! I didn't betray Satan!" Kazuka insisted nervously, gaping at the brunette standing before him.

Yuumei was mysteriously quiet for a few second. Kazuka turned even more anxious at her silent treatment. With her head facing the ground, he couldn't see her current expression and didn't know what was running through her head. Did she doubt his words? Did she still suspect his loyalty despite all his past effort? What's more did she want from him? He opened his mouth in an attempt to explain himself further but closed it back when he saw her lifting her head up to him.

And to his relief, she was smiling.

But, little did he know, it wasn't a smile of forgiveness, but a grin of utter merciless. Then, time seemed to have slowed itself as everyone watched in horror how Yuumei reached her hand out into Kazuka's body and pulled out a small portion of his organs without damaging his external flesh.

While Haruka turned his head away from the brutal sight, a few women screamed and fainted at what they had just witnessed. Those who were left standing were glued to the ground with an injection of shock and horror.

"Who gave you the permission to capture my Akatsuki?" Yuumei murmured lowly as she looked down at the dead Kazuka before dropping the long organ besides his clean corpse.

She pouted when she saw how terribly bloody her hand was. "Aw! I should have brought an extra glove…"

"Yuumei-sama…" Hotaru thoughtfully held a handkerchief out to her.

She thanked her little fan with a smile and took the white cloth over.

"Yo-You murderer! You are not getting away with this!" Seishi yelled, his fury rising at how carefree Yuumei appeared to be even after she had murdered someone.

Yuumei looked over her shoulder, in time to see Seishi gathering and joining the surrounding metallic objects with his powers, ultimately forming a gigantic snake-like, steel creature. The weird looking beast stood a storey tall as it charged down at Yuumei as commanded.

"Waaa!! Kakkoii (Cool)!!" Yuumei commented excitedly while looking up at the gigantic formation.

The creation of the giant steel snake might be an incredible sight for both Haruka and the crowd, but it wasn't the most shocking. It was Yuumei's calm reaction that startled them most. She just stood there with no intention to dodge the coming attack, and it didn't take everyone very long to understand the reason behind her calmness as the steel giant bizarrely went through her body, crashing onto the marble ground and scattering back into metal pieces without even dealing a scratch on her.

Almost everyone dropped their jaws in disbelief. It wasn't real, was it? That giant didn't just pass through her without landing a hit, did it? But, as much as they didn't want to admit it, it did actually happen as Yuumei stood at the very same spot where they last saw her, unhurt and unaffected.

"So, it's true… the Great Powers really are immortals…" Seishi commented in alarm, realizing how impossible it was to take them down in regard of whom and how many opponents they were to face.

Such comment was certainly a discouragement, but who could think positively now after they had witnessed such unspeakable phenomenon? It does take a whole lots of courage and confident to say otherwise.

"Iie(No)…" Yuumei disagreed much to everyone's surprise. "Immortals jya nai _(Not Immortals_)… We just haven't met anyone strong enough to kill us."

The crowd backed up as Yuumei took a step forward. Should they attack her all at once or should they just retreat? They didn't want to offend her and risked dying like Kazuka, but what were the odds of escaping? Obviously, it was little to none.

As for Hayoku, he was certain that there was no escape for him now. Satan wanted him dead for trying to sneak into their territory and there was no better way to assure his death than to send down the Great Powers. He had underestimated this anti-government organization as well as the existence of the young, deadly Great Powers members.

Nevertheless, he wouldn't just give up and die here without a fight, and neither would his wife and Rei. But before they could gang up on her, a loud scream coming from behind interrupted their intention.

All heads turned towards the source of the cry, shocked to find Minako yanking a man up by his collar while tossing another into a wall. She studied the man who was struggling in her grasp for a second longer before she snapped his neck mercilessly and tossed him into the corner with a dissatisfying look on her face.

"Weaklings after weaklings…" She commented under her breath.

The strong demonic aura she currently possessed was overwhelming enough to make most of the people stepping away from her. But, wanting to avenge his friend, one man from the crowd ran towards Minako attempting to strike her with his huge crab-like claw. Minako smirked as she stepped towards the left and flipped the large man over. He landed harshly on his head with his legs straight up, facing the ceiling for a full minute before he fell back down.

Fascinated, Yuumei was the only one clapping at this. That was an interesting defeat. She stared at the ground where his head had been, wondering how Minako was able to make his body stand upright for so long. The marble floor where his head had landed dented in it, which Yuumei assumed was what that had kept him up for a little bit.

As for Rei and the rest of the people present, they were too taken aback by the current Minako that they had all forgotten to breathe. Was this really her? What happened to the once shy and weak Succubus that everyone disregarded? It seemed like they were staring at a completely different person right now.

Haruka took a step out of his hiding place excitedly, but stopped himself from getting near Minako when he realized that she wasn't paying attention to him. She was glaring at Yuumei before she switched her view up to Hotaru, who was now seated on top of her floating violin case, a head above Yuumei.

Sensing an extraordinary presence coming from them, her heart skipped with interest, and within a blink of an eye, she was already in front of Yuumei.

"Ehhhh… Since when did you evolve into a Level 4, Minako-chan?" Yuumei asked with a casual smile.

"No, I'll be a Level 5 after I consume all that strong energy of yours…" Minako murmured as she charged front for a strike.

--

* * *

--

Yeah! I've finally managed to deliver this chapter! Like usual, how was it? I hope it wasn't too dry. Yuumei Versus Minako next chapter? Tsk! Tsk! Not telling, no spoilers! You'll just have to wait and find out.

If you're still not informed, I've allowed Kiara to translate the NPA into Spanish upon request, so readers who are unfamiliar with English could read them as well. And I was very surprise when a reader mailed me congratulating me on winning the 2008 award for best Sei-Usa fanfic in English. Lol! I'm still a bit confused here. Did this story, NPA, won a contest or something? Because I don't remember joining any…

Lastly, I've uploaded a manga version on the _Tale of the Zodiac_ in English up my TLL site. Do kindly leave me a review before you go alright? I love reviews!! And thanks for reading!

--


	20. Sinner or Saint: Akatsuki versus Usagi

--

Last Chapter:

_Haruka took a step out of his hiding place excitedly, but stopped himself from getting near Minako when he realized that she wasn't paying attention to him. She was glaring at Yuumei before she switched her view up to Hotaru, who was now seated on top of her floating violin case, a head above Yuumei._

_Sensing an extraordinary presence coming from them, her heart skipped with interest, and within a blink of an eye, she was already in front of Yuumei._

"_Ehhhh… Since when did you evolve into a Level 4, Minako-chan?" Yuumei asked with a casual smile._

"_No, I'll be a Level 5 after I consume all that strong energy of yours…" Minako murmured as she charged front for a strike._

--

* * *

--

**The Sinner or Saint: Akatsuki versus Usagi**

--

Kureno Sohma, the Superintendent of the police force, exited the car as he glanced over to the little brunette standing by the mansion's entrance. His band of police officers who had already surrounded the place all lowered their weapons, thinking that she was just another victim escaping from Satan. Due to the fight going on between Minako and Yuumei, many of the guests, including Rei and Yaten's parents, managed to escape to the police outside.

"Come over here, little girl. It's dangerous in there." Kureno shouted to Hotaru, baffled that she still wasn't moving from the entrance.

Hotaru didn't reply but took a step down the stone stairs. Screams of fright and panic were heard from the escapists as she did, and some even grabbed onto the nearby officers telling them to shoot her.

"Don't let her come near us! Sh-she's one of the Great Powers!" Rei screamed and backed away.

Kureno raised his brows at her, not understanding her fright or who she was referring to. He had heard about the legend of the Great Powers of Satan, they were immortals apart from the Yonkou, and was said to be so frighteningly powerful that the World Government had offered a treaty to Satan, stating that they wouldn't outlaw the Great Powers even if they were to break the law. In return, Satan must never use any members of the Great Powers against them which included harming any of their military forces. But, like most people, Kureno didn't think the Great Powers were real or even if they weren't just some urban legend, he definitely wouldn't believe that a small, innocent girl like Hotaru could be one of them.

Just when he was about to turn around to face Hotaru, he noticed a purplish sheet of paper descended before him. Curious, he picked up the sheet from the floor and read it.

"Musical note?"

Soon, more and more music sheets were seen raining from the sky as the officers and citizens around Kureno muttered in both confusion and panic.

"No one disturb Yuumei-sama…"

Everyone turned to face the source of the murmur in time to see Hotaru grasped onto her oddly shaped violin by its neck. She positioned her chin on its chinrest before a purplish, glowing violin bow surfaced and dropped lightly onto her right palm.

"Third piece, Nemuriuta (Lullaby) Parade de Flanc…" Hotaru muttered softly, setting her bow near the strings.

"Yoi Yume o (Sweet dreams)…"

--

* * *

--

Yuumei smirked as she pressed her lips on the back of her hand and licked the blood off her cut. She glanced up and smiled at the winged Succubus who, in exchange, was looking sternly down at her from above.

"Sugoi (Amazing) neh! You are fast…" Yummei praised cheerily.

"What are you?" Minako asked, sounding a little astonished.

Being a high levelled Succubus, Minako couldn't understand why she was having difficulties touching this mysterious brunette. Her punch would never reach her on time to land a hit, and if not, it would just penetrate through her as if she wasn't there. She only managed to injure Yuumei when she was distracted by the Succubus wings that she had just spouted. But, even so, a mere cut on the back of her hand was all she managed to deal.

"Me? Hmmm… I'm a nobody…" Yummei replied casually.

Lies. She wasn't nothing. Though it might seemed that way since she couldn't even touch her more than half the time, Minako could clearly distinguished that she wasn't a spirit or a demon, but a living human being, just like all those other men whom she had previously defeated. No, to be precise, she was a hundred time more powerful and unpredictable than all of them added together. Somehow, she reminded her of a devil trapped inside an innocent, girl body. Minako was clearly missing this picture though, since she knew nothing about Yummei's status or background.

"I wish I've wings like yours…" Yummei pouted as she stared admiringly at her pair of Succubus wings. "Neh, Minako-chan… Can I have them? Please?"

Minako just charged down at Yuumei, not planning to answer her. But, her punch missed and hit the marble floor, creating a big crack on the spot where it landed. Yuumei sighed in relief as she glimpsed at the damage done to the ground. That was one deadly strike. She could have ended up deformed if she hadn't 'rejected' the attack on time.

"That's dangerous, Minako-chan!" Yuumei shrieked while she fled from Minako continuous attack.

From a corner, Haruka watched silently the way Yuumei ran about the hall frantically, evading the Succubus who was chasing her from above. He wanted so badly to get out of his hiding place and find Yaten, but that should be a terribly bad idea considering that he might get caught by Minako. The present Minako wasn't the one he knew, not even a bit close. She could kill a man without a blink of affection and that wasn't how the usual, shy Minako would behave.

Wait! Maybe Minako had an evil twin sister, and that was her twin chasing after Yuumei. It could be possible considering Yuumei's relationship with Usagi. He was too distracted with his own thought to realize that Yuumei was calling out to him. When he finally looked towards the source of the cry, he was startled to see that Yuumei was running towards his direction with Minako still chasing behind her.

"Yo-ho! Haruka-kun!" Yuumei greeted, waving happily to him for no apparent reason.

"Wait, wait! Don't come this way!" Haruka practically shrieked as he shook his hands in front of himself, gesturing her to take another route.

But Yuumei just smiled mischievously at him as she grabbed him by his hand and yanked him along. Even though they were running, Haruka couldn't feel his feet making much contact with the ground as Yuumei pulled him this way and that way to evade Minako's attack before returning to their original path.

"Wah! This is so fun!" Yuumei cheered happily.

"Not a bit!" Haruka shouted back.

"Neh Haruka, do you want to fly?" She asked enthusiastically.

"Wh-what?"

Haruka stiffened and his mouth hung wide open when he felt his feet left the ground. Something was lifting him upwards. No, to be precise, someone was hauling him in the air, and that person was none other than Yuumei. He immediately looked up at the happy brunette and his eyes widened another time with astonishment when he saw her running on thin air while dragging him along.

"Wh-what… Ho-how…" Haruka struggled with his words.

But before he could finish the sentence, Yuumei had already released him as he fell from a short distance and landed on his bottom. He rubbed his aching back for a bit before looking back up, surprise to see that the two girls had stopped their little game of catching.

A grin of interest crossed Minako's face as she looked directly at Yuumei. "Though I prefer to feed on men, you've become an exceptional prey. I'm sorry, but for that power of yours, I need you dead..."

Yuumei was surprisingly calm as she smiled cheerily back at Minako, "Ok! Then, Let's play another game! You can have my power if you kill me, but if you can't, I'm taking your wings neh!"

Minako threw her a baffled expression, obviously not getting her train of thoughts. A game? She wanted to play a game when she knew she wanted to kill her? What's more she needed to forfeit her wings if she loses? No one in the right mind would consider that as a game. But someone here did, as Yuumei lowered her head with a subtle grin, murmuring,

"Game Suta-to (Start)…"

Yuumei disappeared in an instant as Minako flew back to expand her vision, not knowing where she went. Just when Minako thought she spotted something above her, Yuumei glided down and phased through her body till she was stationed behind her. She grasped onto her neck and left wing, trapping Minako in that static position.

"Seems like you lost neh, Minako-chan…" Yuumei breathed before she cruelly tore her left wing apart.

A loud scream of pain echoed the hall as the wounded Succubus fell from the top and landed harshly on the ground. She laid there half-conscious as she watched from the tiny opening of her eyes the way Yuumei approached her from above, as though she was climbing down from an invisible stairs.

Minako wanted to back away, but couldn't find the strength to. She wasn't sure whether she was feeling weak because of the excess loss of blood or the unbearable pain that was acting on her open wound, but she did know that she'd have to lose more blood, endure more pain and suffering before she meets death itself.

"Neh, Minako-chan… Shall I tell you the little secret behind my power?" Yuumei whispered, crouching besides the motionless succubus.

A tremor shook Minako's body as she witnessed Yuumei reaching her hand into her abdomen while smiling down at her. She wanted to scream but had forgotten how to when she felt Yuumei's finger tip touching a part of her internal organ.

"Can you see how it works now? This ability to 'choose' what I want to touch… It allows me to pass through and walk on anything, whether it's air or water… And because of this, I can manipulate anything in the world as I please. Cool neh?" Yuumei winked at her before lowering her head mysteriously. "But, there's a big flaw in my ability…"

Her voice faltered, drawing in volume as she dropped her smile for the first time before her. "Unless I abandon this body and enter someone's conscious, I can't feel anything… nothing… Not pain, not warmth… sometime I couldn't even feel my own emotions... pretty pathetic neh? Which always leave me to wonder how it'll feel like if someone was to dig a hole through my stomach while I'm still alive…"

She leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "Will it hurt?"

Minako flinched at her question, but just when she was about to answer her, her reply got replaced by someone calling out to them from a distance.

"Don't!"

That voice, it sounded familiarly warm. Who was it? She fought to keep her eyes open as that person stumbled to her side and, with the help of Haruka, took her into his arms. Through her half-open eyes, she caught a glimpse of his sliver hair and worried expression. She sighed and lay quietly in his arms, hearing him called her names and feeling him held her protectively against his chest.

Why was he here?

Knowing his condition, he wasn't even supposed to be standing, let alone protect her. It was bad enough to get locked up by those heavy chains that suppressed his power, and yet she had previously made matters worse for him by draining most of his energy. So, shouldn't he be mad at her for causing him pain? It wasn't right for him to come save her at all.

But clearly, he wasn't thinking any of those as he struggled to pick her up, but his weak and fragile body forbid him to do so. He needed to get her out of here to seek medical attention, but found himself lacking the strength to even stand on his feet. He muttered curses after curses, begging his superior power to return to him. It was torturing enough to see the girl he loved so battered. Must she also die in his arms?

He gazed down when he felt her grasping onto his sleeve as she muttered with much effort, "Wh-what are you doing? Get out of here…"

Yaten shook his head at her with an exasperated look, "Get out? You think I'll actually do that and leave you here to die? I'm not going to…! Unless you kill me, I'm not leaving here without you!"

Minako smirked at his remark and reached up for his lips. "You think I won't kill you…?"

"Do it."

He slid his hands around her waist, pulling her closer to him as a form of encouragement. Yes, he wanted her to kiss him so she could consume the rest of his energy to nurse her wound. He was selfish. His desire was to be the one to save her. He didn't want her to kiss and drain any other man life source if he could help it.

Minako was quiet for a while, not showing any reaction toward his decision to die for her. She seemed to be hesitating and he didn't understand her thoughts at all. In the past, such reluctance coming from the innocent Minako was reasonable as she didn't know the way to control her power, fearing that she might unintentionally drain his energy if they were to kiss. But, the situation was different now. She wasn't the amateur Succubus anymore. She had evolved and could fully control her power without assistance from a shaman or necromancer. So, why was she hesitating? Didn't she realize that the injuries she was carrying now were enough to last a lifetime?

"How silly…" She breathed before leaning forward to bring her face closer to his.

A gentle smile spread across his face as he watched the distance between them disappear. His soft silver bangs brushed across her face as their lips touched. He held her closer to return the awaited kiss, but kept his eyes opened wanting to see this beautiful angel of his for the last time. He could feel his stomach tightened at the thought of death. It wasn't because he was afraid of dying. Rather, he was feeling lonely knowing that he would never get the chance to see and hold onto her again. It was ironic how love worked. One minute, he wanted himself to die so she wouldn't have to suffer, but now, he didn't feel like dying and leaving her at all.

"_Please god. Please spare me a little more strength, a little more time to hold onto her… to be with her…" _

As though his prayer had been answered, his body didn't weakened from the kiss. Instead, he felt his body strengthening as his eyes snapped wide open, finally realizing that Minako was transferring his energy back to him rather than consuming it. He quickly broke the kiss and peered startlingly down at her only to find her smiling weakly back at him.

It was a familiar smile, one that came from an angel he had always loved and cherished, but somehow, it hurt him so much to see that smile. Something was stabbing him in the inside causing tears to surface in his eyes. The pain worsened when he felt her grip loosening as her hand dropped to her side. He hugged her back dearly as if he was afraid she'd disappear if he let her go.

"How can you be so stupid?! Do you have any idea what you've just done to yourself?! You might really die and how would I be able to live with myself if that was to happen?"

Minako sighed quietly, "I should be the one asking you this, Yaten-sama."

Stunned, he released her ever so slightly to glance down at her. She smiled at his startled expression and lifted her hand to touch him gently on the cheek. "Losing a wing won't kill me… you know that… yet… you're willing to sacrifice your life to lessen my pain… How silly…"

"Minako, you-…" He paused when he saw her eyes softening with tears.

"I'm sorry… I did something horrible to you… I'm sorry..." She breathed.

Yaten shook his head, pulling her closer till he was kissing her on the forehead. "No… You didn't…"

She shut her eyes and smiled sadly at his remark, "I did… I did want you to hate me… But why? Why didn't you give me the chance to save you from all these troubles? Why didn't you despise me even though I've changed…? In the end, I still depended on you to save me… I don't want that… Why? Why must it always end this way…? Why wouldn't you just go away?"

Yaten was quiet for a moment as he peered down at her with a dejected look. "You're really cruel, Minako… always doing things like this… always rejecting me even though you knew how much I love you…"

"You won't be happy loving a demon like me-…"

"I'll die without you!" He exclaimed aloud as he drew her back into his arms.

"I'll really die without you…" He repeated in a whisper, holding her there and allowing her to sob quietly in his arms.

"You are really silly…" Minako muttered against his chest.

She didn't know how to reject him anymore. No matter what she did or how much she had changed, he still wouldn't want to leave her. He continued to chase, look, and protect her despite knowing how impossible it was to have a future together. She wasn't cruel. She would have happily accepted his feeling and be with him if she wasn't a Succubus. She just didn't want him to commit a taboo. Couldn't he just save all these feeling for a normal girl instead? Why must he choose her when there were a million better human candidates in the world, girls who wouldn't end up changing dramatically and hurting him?

She was a Succubus, and he was a human. Just like all the stories she had heard, she might eventually evolve into a mindless demon and kill him one day. That was the reason why she didn't dare to tell him her feeling since there would be no turning back for him if she had returned his feeling with an '_I love you_'.

This time, she might have remembered him and her feeling for him, though she had pretended she didn't, but the next time she couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't kill him for real which was why she had chose to pick a fight with Yuumei. She wanted someone to end her life before she turned into something horrible, but instead of killing her, Yuumei simply hurt her to the extent that she won't be able to evolve temporary. For some reason, she didn't kill her even though she could have easily done so, and Minako didn't know whether she should be thanking her for being strangely merciful.

Her eyes moved over to Yuumei's steady black ones. She was still smiling mysteriously at them as she watched how Haruka ripped his jacket into shed, using them as makeshift bandages to hinder the flow of her blood. Her wound was serious, but not vital enough to kill a high level demon like her, and even without seeing a specialist, it would eventually heal on its own. But still, the whole untreated process hurt terribly enough to make death a preferred choice.

Yaten cringed at the sound of Minako's quiet whimper escaping from her mouth. Glancing down at her shut eyes, he could tell that she was trying to keep him noticing her pain, but it was evident in her furrowed eyebrows. He needed to get her out of here and treated. But Haruka restrained him, fearing that he might get killed by Hotaru who were guarding outside.

Yaten swore softly under his breath as he turned and glared angrily at Yuumei, wanting so badly to kill her for hurting Minako. It didn't matter what relationship she had with Usagi or how much she had helped the Aces previously, he couldn't forgive her now when she had hurt Minako to the extent that she couldn't even move.

Clenching his fists, he fought to keep his anger under control, knowing that he couldn't afford to waste anymore time here. Getting Minako treated was more important than to vent his anger. He didn't care if there was another member of the Great Powers currently guarding outside. He would fight her if he has to.

Minako shook her head in refusal and clutched onto him, silently asking him not to do anything reckless, but Yaten couldn't agree with her. Nothing hurt him more than to see her in pain, and he would have dashed out on that instant if Haruka hadn't asked Yuumei for the Imperial Scroll of Muromachi.

"The Scroll… it disappeared…" Yuumei told him simply.

She stared at her right hand in confusion. Funny, she remembered holding onto it a moment ago, but it wasn't anywhere on or near her now. How, when, and where had it gone to? She tried searching through herself by emptying her pockets but all she found were a folded piece of paper, a tiny plastic bottle that contained a pill in it, and a grey cell phone.

"Eh? Why am I carrying this?" Yuumei muttered to herself, shaking the bottle and watching the capsule spun in it.

Yaten clutched his fists at her senseless behaviour, unable to hide his anger any longer. "Stop messing around with us! Is hurting Minako not enough to satisfy you? Are you planning to destroy our only chance to bring them back as well?! What the hell are you plotting?!"

Yuumei remained there with her head cock to the side, blinking innocently back at him, "I'm not plotting anything. I just came here to kill these people on the list. Then one of them came up and gave me the scroll. Later, Minako-chan appeared and said she wanted to play a game with me, but she lost the first round so I took her wing as my reward. You can ask Minako-chan if you don't believe me neh? She's the one who didn't take the game seriously…"

She paused for a second, her steady black orbs looked over to Minako's shocked ones, and she grinned mysteriously. "… Am I right, Minako-chan? You wanted to die back then, didn't you?"

For a moment, everyone was quiet. Yaten widened his eyes in disbelief as he dropped his head and looked at Minako. She buried her face in his chest and didn't say a word, indirectly telling him that Yuumei's assumption was true. Indeed, she wanted to die. She was seeking death so she won't have to end up killing him one day. But, she couldn't possibly tell him that, could she?

"Wh-why-?" Yaten breathed, not completing his question.

He didn't want to ask further. He didn't want her to personally tell him the reason she was seeking death. Deep down, he already knew the answer but was just too afraid to admit it. There were many difficult things that he had come to accept. He had accepted the fact that she was a Succubus and he was a human, he had accepted the fact that they couldn't be together, but he couldn't accept the fact that she had to kill herself just because he insisted to stay by her side.

It didn't even make sense to him.

Was it so wrong to protect her?

All he ever wanted was to keep her safe, yet she wanted to suicide because she didn't want to harm him? Must she die just because they were in loved with each other? Was it even a sin to share such feelings?

Why, that hardly sounded fair. They weren't even given a choice to beginning with. So, to be parted in the end, was really their fateful ending, wasn't it?

"It's going to be alright."

Yaten's face shot up to the source of the faint whisper, and like Haruka and Minako, he was surprised to see Yuumei standing before him. She smiled up at him as he backed away from her while tugging Minako protectively in his arms. Haruka stepped forth, keeping himself between his friends and Yuumei.

Their unfriendly behaviour didn't seem to offend Yuumei as she stretched her neck to look over Haruka's shoulder. She smiled at the couple behind before looking back at Haruka and tossing the plastic bottle over to him.

Haruka caught it in surprise and stared suspiciously back at Yuumei. What did she just give him? A miniature bomb or was it a dose of poison?

Yuumei grinned at his suspicion, "It's a restoration pill. Dr Mizuno said that it can heal injuries in less than a few minute. Every member of the Great Powers is given one. But I don't need it neh. So, Minako-chan, you can have it..."

Both Haruka and Yaten glanced back and forth between Yuumei and the bottle of pill suspiciously, not knowing whether they should trust her and give the medication to Minako. What game was she playing here? First, she injured Minako and now she offered to treat her injuries by giving her an unidentified, magic pill? As much as they didn't want to trust her, they somehow would like to believe that such a miracle drug really did exist since it'd definitely save Minako from going through anymore pain.

"Thank you." Minako muttered and nodded at Yuumei with appreciation.

"Minako, are you sure about this?" Yaten asked worriedly as he watched her take the medication from Haruka.

Minako smiled and nodded back, "If she really wants to kill me, she'd have done so earlier… but she didn't… Instead, she worsened my condition, temporary stopping me from evolving. For this… I really should be thanking her…"

Yaten was quiet for a second, thinking through what Minako had just said. He hated the fact that she had hurt Minako, but he couldn't deny that she had somehow helped them delay their period of separation by doing so. He glimpsed over to Yuumei, and as expected, she was still grinning back at them. He didn't get her. Why was she always smiling? Though he couldn't read her, he was certain that she wasn't smiling because she was happy. So why was she always wearing that expression? The similar, bright grin that reminded them of Usagi's…

"But I don't think the drug will help grow wings… What a pity! We won't be able to play catching for quite some time neh…" Yuumei sighed as she walked past them.

They watched her proceeded to the entrance and, just when she was about to reach for the door handle, she paused.

"Ah. I forgot to mention…" Yuumei stated in an unusual, solemn tone. "The person who destroyed the scroll wasn't me…"

"… It was Akatsuki."

She glanced over her shoulder at them, smiling faintly at their startled expression.

"I wonder what had provoked her…"

--

* * *

--

Taiki could hear someone calling out to him from the distance, but he couldn't see or move from the spot where he was standing. He was trapped inside a huge, translucent sphere, the demon fox's realm which he had voluntary entered to sacrifice his body in. The inside of its dimension was foggy. He could hardly see anything at first, but soon he could make out a grey figure hitting on the shell of the sphere he was in.

"Taiki! Taiki!"

It was a familiar cry, and just by hearing her voice made his heart sank by a bit.

"Usagi…" He breathed her name as he turned around to face the source of the cry.

His eyes widened when he caught sight of her facial expression. She was crying and was still desperately rapping on the translucent wall. It was no use. She could never break the barrier no matter how hard she pounded on it. Even though they were able to see each other, they weren't really standing on the same ground. He was trapped in a different dimension, entirely away from hers. He couldn't back away from this realm and she couldn't enter. There was nothing any of them could do to get to one another.

"You finally cried for me…" He muttered with a faint smile, his hand reached for her, extending but his body couldn't move from that spot.

She cried out his name once again, hitting the wall harder this time. Even from where he was, Taiki could see the amount of tears that were bubbling down her cheeks. He forced his lips up into a weak smile, trying to cheer her, but that only seemed to upset her further.

"Go back…" He told her gently.

"Stupid Taiki! If you don't come back with me, I won't leave! We are going back together!" Usagi shrieked stubbornly.

She was practically punching the indestructible wall now with tears still streaming down her face like endless rivers. It didn't matter how red and swollen her fists were, nothing was going to stop her from getting over to him. She wasn't ready to lose him just like that. How could he expect her to do nothing when he was about to disappear right before her eyes?

He looked sadly back at her, silently begging her to stop hurting herself. But his look didn't seem to get through to Usagi as she continued punching the wall with all her might. A moment ago, he would have admitted that he wanted her to cry for him, but he regretted that desire now. It made him feel miserable to see her looking so sad. So this was how Seiya felt whenever she cried for him? It was definitely not a good feeling.

She cried even louder when a dark hole appeared from beneath Taiki as he slowly sank into the abyss. In exchange, a bright crack surfaced from the empty space behind Usagi, opening into a portal that would bring her back to their original period. But Usagi didn't even bother to glimpse at it as she continued hitting the wall with her fists.

"Taiki! You Baka!"

"_Stupid?"_

She was the first and most probably the last person he knew that would refer him with that word. Maybe he was stupid. He never seemed to act intelligently whenever she was placed into consideration. He knew that sacrificing himself like this was one of the dumbest choices there was to make, but he was selfish. He wanted Usagi to have only him in her mind, and if his stupidity could earn him that, he would have no regrets forgoing his life to the evil fox spirit.

But, just like he had calculated, his plan to win her heart, no matter how silly or brilliant it was, would always turn out to be unsuccessful as a hand reached forth and grabbed him by the arm.

"Like I'll ever let you win…"

Taiki smirked as he glanced up to face the source of the familiar voice. "Took you quite some time to get in here, Seiya-kun… Half of my body is already touching hell now…"

"Why don't you try breaking into this dimension yourself, Taiki-dono? See whether it's really that easy…" Seiya smiled sarcastically back at him.

Usagi gasped when she saw Seiya suspending in the air as he tried to save Taiki from getting consumed into the spiritual world of the demon fox. She wasn't aware that Seiya had previously left her side and broke into the fox's dimension with his power. She didn't know how he got in there, but she definitely didn't like the fact that he was badly wounded all over. His clothes were ripped and stained with his own blood that was seen leaking out from the many cuts on his hands and body.

Taiki remained perfectly still as he observed Seiya's injuries, watching blood trickled down his forehead, streaming down his nose and cheeks, and finally dripping off his chin. A drop slipped off and hit his arm. Taiki glimpsed at the bead of blood resting on his arm and sighed.

"Forcing your way in here… You are asking for death, aren't you?"

"Look who's talking. Should I remind you that you are the sacrifice here? Furthermore a voluntary one..." Seiya retorted coolly.

"Since you knew I'm the sacrifice, shouldn't you be releasing me already? You'll get suck in as well if you continue to hold onto me." Taiki told him calmly as he gestured at the black, thick chain that were climbing up from the dim hole.

The dark lock encircled around him before it collided forcefully onto his body, causing Taiki to furrow his eyebrows in pain. The chain was crashing onto him with so much force that he was certain that it would have smashed through his bones if Seiya hadn't used his power to loosen the metal by a little.

Taiki shook his head at Seiya, silently telling him to stop employing his power. He had previously used up most of his energy just to intrude into this dimension, and if that wasn't bad enough, he was even injured during the process. Forget about exercising anymore of his power to save him, it was already a miracle that he could still stand in his terrible condition. Even if he was a unique-levelled, he should have his limit right? But it didn't seem like he was going to collapse anytime soon.

"Seriously, how much endurance do you have?" Taiki shook his head with a smile when he realized that Seiya had stubbornly burst all the chains from his body.

"Enough to get you out of here." Seiya breathed as he used his final strength to pull Taiki out of the dark hole.

Usagi blinked away her tears with a smile when she saw them landed onto the ground, a short distance away from her.

"Seiya! Taiki!" She called out to them.

The two boys tilled their heads to face her and smiled together, silently telling her that they were alright. She nodded and beamed happily at them to let them know she understood. But, just when she thought her friends were safe, they suddenly disappeared before her eyes.

Vanished…

Gone…

"Wait-…" Usagi breathed, stunned for a second.

What was happening here? Seiya? Taiki? Where were they? Usagi pressed herself closer to the barrier, her eyes wandered wildly in search for her two friends, but they were nowhere in sight. Instead, she spotted a nine-tailed kistune in her human form standing on the spot where she had last seen them. She was accompanied by Kakyuu who had her head bowed low before her ancestor.

"Seiya and Taiki, what have you done to them?!" Usagi yelled as she slammed on the wall forcefully.

"You are with those two?" The older kitsune asked, looking arrogantly at Usagi. "Oh? Aren't you a lucky girl? I've live for nine hundred years yet I've never met anyone like those two boys before. No one had ever broken through my realm and escape my death penalty. How interesting. I even got to personally come out and capture them. But don't worry… they aren't dead… just that you won't be able to see them again…"

"Give them back…"

"What did you say?"

"I said give them back! Give Seiya and Taiki back to me! Give them back!" Usagi exploded as she glared angrily at the kitsune.

She had her hands clenched tightly in fists and was trembling from her desire to attack in. But the kitsune simply turned away from her, not taking her words into consideration.

"Give up and go home, little girl. They're _mine_ now. Unless you destroy my realm, you can never see them again."

"Then, I'll destroy you together with your realm…" Usagi whispered grimly as she lowered her head to face the ground.

Both Kakyuu and her ancestor turned back and looked at Usagi, surprised by her statement. What was she saying? She couldn't even break through the barrier and get into their dimension, let alone destroy it. Even if she could intrude in, she wouldn't have any power left to fight them or avoid vanishing like Seiya and Taiki.

For a moment, Usagi was awkwardly quiet. She could feel so much agony in her that she was barely even aware of what she was thinking anymore. All these sorrow, pain and pressure had somehow collided together, forming another emotion that she had hardly experienced, the taste of hatred and anger. Soon, she felt the room spinning and darkening as that feeling bizarrely altered her into another character.

"Destroy neh?" She murmured under her breath.

They watched as her lips curved up into a subtle smile. Slowly, she lifted her head up and looked blankly at them. Her eyes, they noticed, were completely black. But, this sudden change in her eyes colour wasn't the only thing that shocked them. For some reason, they could feel a chill of coldness racing down their spines just by looking at her smile. It wasn't a friendly grin. Instead, it was a smile of pure spite and abhorrence.

Once again, they saw her approached the translucent barrier, but instead of hitting, she quietly touched it with her fingers much to their surprise.

Then, all of the sudden, a dark red door unexplainably emerged before them, blocking their vision on Usagi. It flung open harshly, and immediately, the two kitsune felt a strong force crashed into their heads, causing them to fall onto their knees while clutching onto their hairs in pain. Something was attacking them from within as the pain flowed through their bodies, coursing through their blood and into their bones. It was hurting them so badly that it felt as if their bodies would explode any moment.

The elder kitsune's face shot up when she sensed someone standing by the mysterious doorway. "You-…"

"Hajimemashite, watashi wa Akastuki desu. Douzo Yoroshiku. _(Let me introduce myself. I'm Akatsuki. Nice to meet you.)_" She greeted in a mono-tone.

The elder kitsune glared at Usagi, waiting for her to step out from that unknown dimension so she could attack her. But she just remained in her safety zone, watching them suffer with a cold grin spread across her pretty face.

"I'll destroy everything neh…"

--

* * *

--

_It was 10 years ago…_

… _and I thought I've forgotten,_

_but strangely enough, I started recalling that day, that name, that past…_

Usagi's vision remained blank as those thought flowed into her mind. She didn't know what she was doing or what was happening around her anymore. But there were so many images and words ringing in her head, things she didn't remember happening before, most of this, involved herself.

One event stuck out in particular…

It all started when Hayato Furinji came to visit her. As usual, he broke the door of the small pocket dimension she had created to lock herself in. His face held no trace of remorse for breaking her access as he smiled brightly down at her.

The little girl glanced back and forth between her grandfather and the broken door with a blank expression. There wasn't many people she knew who could break into her imaginary world, but Hayato being one of the few, was the only one who could destroy the entrance.

This history strongest man was truly inhuman.

"That was the tenth time, Oji-san. And I assume you're not going to help me fix it right?" She smiled plainly at him while pointing at the knockdown door.

"Hoho! I'm doing you a favour, Akatsuki-chan. You shouldn't lock yourself in this place… You should go out and see the world!"

She shook her head, "Father said because I can manipulate anything when I'm in here, this is my world… and unless I'm assigned a mission, it's not necessary for me to go anywhere. Besides, it's nice to stay here. I can even watch my favourite sunrise. See…"

With a snap of her finger, the once dim playroom setting magically changed to the site of a random rooftop that overlooked the sunrise view. The little blonde smiled brightly at her grandfather, but strangely, he didn't smile back at her like he usually would. Instead, he just stared at the rising sun with a grave expression.

"You'll never learn how to smile like this, Akatsuki…"

"But I'm smiling now…" She gave him a big grin.

He looked sadly down at her and patted her on the head, "That isn't a smile… that is a sin…"

"What's a sin? I don't understand you, Ouji-san." She cocked her head and stared at him.

For a moment, Hayato just smiled quietly back at his granddaughter before he gestured her to look to her right. The little blonde turned around curiously just in time to see the setting changed to a playground site. She blinked and looked surprisingly back at her grandfather. What was happening here? She didn't remember altering the environment, and by right, no one besides her could manipulate her pocket dimension. So, how and why did it changed?

"Oji-san?" She raised her brows suspiciously at him but he just shook his head, asking her to watch the event of children playing in front of them.

Her eyes obediently followed the little kids running around the tiny playground. Some of them were clapping and cheering happily, while the others were pouting and crying. She watched as a little girl tried climbing up a tree to reach a boy seated on top of it. She pouted at him when he laughed at her clumsiness before he reached out his hand to her. A wide smile etched across her chubby face as their hands locked.

"What do you think of this, Akatsuki-chan?" Hayato asked her.

She shook her head slowly, "I don't understand what's going on… but…"

"But?"

Her lips curved up into a tiny smile, "It's interesting…"

_That day, I learnt something new. _

_A world outside of my own existed. _

_It was an entirely different world though._

_No blood, no killings, no suffering…_

_I don't dislike my life in Satan, but I just thought it was more interesting over there. Strangely, I, who always thought killing was fun, was thinking otherwise now. So, that was how a child like my age should behave? _

_Clapping,_

_Cheering,_

_Pouting and,_

_Crying…_

_I want to try all of those…_

"Akatsuki-chan, will you like to attend a special school?" Hayato asked, smiling warmly down at his granddaughter.

"Eh? School?"

Hayato nodded, "The National Psychical Academy."

"Hmm… Will I be able to do the things they do over there if I attend the academy?"

"HOHO! Of course you'll be able to, provided you make some friends there…"

"Ok! I'll make a lot of them!" She exclaimed with determination_._

_But, the truth was…_

_I was ignorance of what friends were, or maybe, I just wasn't concern of the many people and faces I came into contact with everyday. Who were they? Why did Father say that I was important… that Satan needed me? But, I never needed them. I never needed anything or anyone. I didn't even need to be alive. So, why? Why did Mother give up her life just to save me? Even if I ended up killing most of the culprits, I still couldn't save her._

_All I could do…_

… _was to smile at her death._

_She was just another corpse, pretty much like the many others I had killed._

_But Mother, it must be boring being a corpse right? _

_You couldn't move, couldn't talk, couldn't smile…_

_It must be boring._

_That's why Father has been trying so hard to bring you back to life. _

_But Mother, ever since you exchanged your life for Akatsuki's, I'm nothing more but a living corpse. _

_Akatsuki is so empty, so lifeless. I don't want to be her. _

_I want to learn how to smile properly, and cry in pain. Like the little children in the playground, I want to act childishly. _

_I don't want to be Akatsuki._

It was then when she decided to leave Satan, and started a new life outside of the paranormal world.

Her new name?

Usagi...

A name that she got from the bunny toy which Yuumei gave her on their birthday.

Yuumei, like always, held no objection against her sister sudden departure. She wasn't worried, or even a bit concerned, because the both of them were destined to be together. Nothing could separate them, and as long as one of them was alive, the other would be. But unlike Yuumei, the rest of the Great Powers and her father weren't a bit happy, but under the influence of Hayato, they reluctantly agreed to let her live a normal life for a given period of time.

_But, I didn't change even after I left Satan. _

_I was still Akatsuki…_

_And, I killed again._

_The victims? _

_My foster parents. _

They died pretty quickly, and she smiled when she looked down at their corpses, knowing that they would never disturb her with their quarrels and fights again.

Why? The world in the academy wasn't any special either. Compared to those psychics she had asked to kill back in Satan, the people at the academy were a whole lot weaker. And to make matter worse, they would either talk things that made no sense to her or placed so much expression on their faces that they would end up confusing her. Forget about making friends, she could barely understand anyone there.

Books gave her headaches.

Lectures made her sleepy.

The children she knew didn't enjoy playing swings or climbing trees. All they ever talked about were gaining more levels and powers.

_I realized I couldn't be Usagi…_

_Maybe I should just return to Satan..._

Those were her initial thoughts till she overheard an argument between two teachers, both against the idea to teach a boy who bear the same last name as the family that killed her mother two years ago.

"_The Kous are your enemies…"_

That was what her father told her.

_Enemies? That means I should kill him neh? _

But after she got there, she had lost her interest to eradicate him when she saw the big Saukra tree that was planted outside of his house. She found herself recalling the happy grin that little girl was wearing when she had successfully climbed a tree.

_Will I learn to smile like that if I made it to the top?_

She climbed it without further hesitation and made it to the highest branch without much effort. But why wasn't she smiling? She attempted to force a grin on her face but the first light coming from above distracted her. She looked up, watching the sun slowly rose from the horizon before she heard a loud crack and the next thing she knew, she was already falling.

Her scream was cut off when she found her lips pressing against a soft object. She had landed onto something, hadn't she? But that thing felt nice and warm. It smelt good too, and it had eyes.

_Eyes?!_

She immediately jumped away when she realized that she had landed on someone. For a moment, she just apologized frantically without thinking or looking at him directly. She had expected him to yell at her like most people she knew here would, but he was awkwardly quiet. Baffled, she lifted her head and looked carefully at him for the first time.

_I froze_…

She couldn't bring herself to look away from those mysterious blue eyes.

_So beautiful…_

…_yet they seemed so cold and empty._

No matter what she said or did around him, his expression remained blank. That was something new. Suddenly, her legs just ran on their own accord and before she knew it, she was already chasing after him. For the first time, she actually reached her hands out and grabbed onto a boy whom she had just met.

"_Will you be my friend?" was the first thing I asked him._

To her surprise, he flung her hands away without saying anything.

Even without words, she knew she got rejected, but strangely, she found myself smiling at him as she watched him proceeded into the house. Her heart was still pounding hardly against her chest and she spent the rest of her day trying to figure out what this mysterious feeling was.

_I was curious, so I went back the next day, and the following day after next, and soon, I found myself seeing him everyday. _

He never spoke a word to her or changed his emotionless expression regardless of what she did. Because she wanted him to talk to her, and because she wanted him to notice her, she began to act childishly, and smiling became her main aspect even though she didn't give any thought to how she should behave.

_It was then when I found myself constantly chasing after him…_

…_constantly chasing after someone who reminded me of myself, but unlike me, he had the courage to live on as who he was. He wouldn't try smiling if he didn't know how to, he would continue living even if he wasn't needed, and he was always working so hard, even though he knew there wouldn't be anyone there to acknowledge him. I, on the other hand, was just a lost little girl who needed him to lead me out of my own small imaginary world. _

_And as the time past,_

_I became dependent…_

_I depended on him to make me smile, feel, and to live as Usagi._

_I like it this way…_

_But because it was my first time needing someone…_

… _I became concerned. _

_I worried that he'd leave, and my little fairytale as Usagi would be over. _

_So, I've decided to be the one to go instead…_

_At the very least, I could leave as Usagi, this new me whom I've grown to adore being. _

That day, she was supposed to go over to bid her depart. But, she was stopped by a group of men working for the state government. She recognized their badges. The Great Powers had assaulted a few of them wearing those before. But they had avoided doing so after Satan had agreed to sign a peace treaty with the world government, agreeing not to harm any of their authorities unless provoked.

But they had provoked her alright…

"I said that's not his name!" She yelled, feeling an unpleasant flow of heat empowering her from within.

_Stop insulting him!_

_Stop mocking him!_

_Just shut up already!_

At that moment, the Usagi she adored left.

She turned back to Akatsuki who cruelly forced their minds with her dark energy, and they collapsed, begging for air.

_So weak… _

_So powerless…_

Like usual, they didn't fight back. Either they couldn't or wouldn't because they were fools who didn't know what was attacking them. She observed them suffer, seeing them showing the same expressions like those she had killed throughout her life in Satan. Yes, that was what she did as Akatsuki…

_They'll die._

But she stopped when she saw him approaching from the corner of her eyes. Strangely, her anger dropped at the sight of him as her lips curved back up into a bright smile. He stared oddly at her for a moment, and to her astonishment, she saw him opening his mouth by a little as he told her his name for the first time.

"Seiya…"

As his name and voice rang in her ears, she finally realized that she had found someone she wouldn't want to say goodbye to, someone who could made her smile and cry all together.

_His name,_

_His voice,_

_His smile…_

_I don't want to leave something these beautiful…_

_I want to stay and be with him._

_I want to make him happy and see his smile…_

_I became selfish, hadn't I? _

_And as time past, I even forget who Akatsuki is…_

"My name is Usagi."

_Yes, using that name, I've even made a lot of friends with him._

_Yaten, Minako, Haruka, Yuki… _

_They are all wonderful people who Seiya and I can get along with…_

…_But there's also an exception. _

The scene shifted, showing someone shoving the classroom's door open. Usagi was pictured smiling delightedly, while Seiya, on the other hand, was glowering at the boy who had just walked in.

"Please to meet everyone. I'm Taiki Kou. Starting from today, I'll be attending the same class here with everyone. I hope we'll get along." He greeted the class with a cool smile.

The class murmured in consideration with his attendance in the academy. Everyone knew who this genius was, but no one, besides Seiya, knew why he even wanted to attend the academy when he was rumoured to practically know everything about the world.

"Taiki!" Usagi called out to him excitedly.

Taiki looked over and smiled when he spotted Usagi waving to him with a bright grin spread across her pretty face. She was seated all the way in the back of the room, next to Seiya who was fuming silently against the background. He glared at him, sending him a warning to back away from Usagi, but Taiki simply pretended not to notice that signal as he headed for the empty seat next to Usagi.

"May I sit next to you, Usagi?" Taiki asked politely.

"Of course! I'm so happy to see you here, Taiki!"

He smiled warmly back, "Me too. It must be fate that brought us here together."

Seiya shot up from his seat at his remark. "This is no fate! You planned all these up!"

Taiki forced a smile, pretending to be innocent. "Ah. I don't know what you are talking about, Seiya-san. But indeed, I'm planning to take good care of Usagi from now on…"

Seiya grimaced and demanded angrily. "Stay. Away. From. Usagi. And. Get. Out."

"No." Taiki rejected simply.

A fight broke loose immediately, and by the end of the day, the two boys were sent to detention for demolishing the entire classroom.

_Seiya and Taik are always fighting, and it puzzled me why they cannot get along at times._

--

Taiki's answer:

"It's simple. That's because we're both equally selfish..."

Seiya's answer:

"He's a hindrance."

--

_I still can't understand… but I didn't think Taiki is a hindrance. _

_I always think he's kinder than any other person, a lot smarter and thoughtful too._

_He taught me a lot of things and, without knowing, he helped expand my world even though I didn't ask. _

_Everyday, he'll go through the trouble to make lectures and homework interesting for me despite he has many other things to handle. _

_He's really amazing, isn't he? _

_So amazing till the extent that I began to believe we can accomplish anything, as long as he's there…_

_But, I wasn't aware of his difficulties…_

_I wasn't aware that he'd choose to act so thoughtlessly._

_Why didn't I notice earlier? _

_Not just Taiki, I didn't even see how Seiya injured himself, or how the both of them disappear before me. _

_I must be blind._

_That explains why everything is pitch-black before me…_

_I couldn't see anything, I didn't know what I'm doing or where I am, but I could hear voices…_

_Familiar voices calling out to me…_

"Usagi… Usagi…!"

--

Usagi slowly opened her eyes, bewildered by what she saw before her. She let out a high pitch shriek before she shot up and gratefully tossed her arms around the man who was holding onto her.

"Taiki! Taiki! You're still here! You didn't disappear!" Usagi cried in relief.

Surprised, Taiki flinched as she embraced him dearly. His eyes widened and his cheeks began to darken when he realized that she was practically snuggling with him, not that he minded, but he hadn't expected that coming from her. Usagi rarely demonstrated such intimacy when she was around him, and he wasn't aware that he had made her worried. Then again, she hadn't seemed to notice that they weren't alone. He didn't have the heart to tell her. The oblivious state he found endearing, however, only seemed to anger the person lying on the sofa bed next to them.

"TAIKI KOU!! Take your hands off Usagi!"

Usagi's face shot up as she looked over Taiki's shoulder to face Seiya who seemed very displeased with the intimacy. But Usagi seemed to overlook his obvious signs of raging jealousy as she cried out his name in joy.

"Seiyaaaa!"

Temporary dropping his jealousy, Seiya blinked in surprise as Usagi tried hurling out of Taiki's arms with the desire to fly over and embrace him. Seiya smiled lightly at this and kept his hands towards her, ready to catch her, but Taiki managed to pull Usagi back right before she dropped into Seiya's arms.

"No, Usagi. Seiya is wounded. You can't touch him now." Taiki informed Usagi as he continued to hold her possessively in his arms while smiling evilly at Seiya.

Seiya glowered back, veins popping out of his forehead as he clutched tightly onto his pillow, envisioning it as Taiki's neck. He wanted to strangle that genius and would have if it wouldn't upset Usagi.

"Eh? Seiya is injured? How bad is it? Does it hurt?" Usagi asked worriedly.

Her eyes were already watery as she looked anxiously at Seiya, making him dropped his fury once again. He was weakened by the sight of her tears, despite it wasn't his first time seeing them. It was rare to see Usagi cry. But whenever she did, it was usually because of him. Yet again, he was able to make her cry with a little to no effort, and it was definitely not something he was proud of. He'd rather she stopped caring for him so much than to always see her looking this sad.

"It's just minor injuries, Odango... I'm fine... You don't have to worry." Seiya consoled gently.

"You are injured! How can I not worry?!" Usagi shrieked at him much to his surprise.

Seiya kept quiet, allowing Usagi to scold him for recklessly hurting himself. He didn't want to upset her further by arguing back but he couldn't help but glared at Taiki, not understanding why he was the only one who was getting scolded when he wasn't even the main culprit. Shouldn't she be scolding Taiki instead? He was the one to act thoughtlessly first.

And as though she could read his thoughts, Usagi turned around to face Taiki, looking anything but happy. Taiki smiled uneasily, anticipating her wrath as he watched her raised her hand at him. She had every right to slap him since he knew he had upset her terribly. She wasn't going to forgive him, he already knew that much, and if slapping him would make her feel any better, he was more than happy to let her do it.

But to his surprise, she only knocked his forehead lightly with her knuckles. "Stupid Taiki! You almost scare me to death! Sacrificing yourself and wanting us to go back without you! You think I'd agree to that?! You think I'd be happy?! I won't! So, don't ever do such stupid things again, you hear me? I'm not going to be nice and forgive you the next time you do something this stupid!"

Even though she was practically yelling at him, Taiki couldn't be more grateful that she had already forgiven him as he giggled happily to himself.

"Don't laugh! I'm being very serious here!" Usagi shrieked agitatedly at him.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to offend you. I'm just so happy that I couldn't help myself." Taiki grinned in relief.

"Happy? Why?" Usagi asked, feeling more curious than furious right now.

Taiki smiled warmly at her as he reached his hand out to touch her cheek but another hand coming from the side held him back by the wrist.

"Don't take advantage of the situation, damn genius." Seiya warned as the two boys glowered at each other.

"Lie back down, Seiya." Usagi demanded strictly as she got up to positioned Seiya back on the sofa bed, much to his reluctance.

He stopped glaring at Taiki when he saw Usagi checking on his injuries. She sighed in relief when she realized that Taiki had already treated him and dressed his wound.

She looked concernedly down at him, "Seiya, you need proper rest. So, try not to move so much alright?"

Seiya sighed but nodded obediently. How could he say no to her when she was giving him such a worried look? He could figure that she was more concerned about him than she was surprised even after she had realized that they were back in the Aces district. As compared to anything else, she was much more interested to know from Taiki the condition of his injuries and the number of stitches he received when she was unconscious.

"But, he was bleeding pretty badly back then. Are you sure he doesn't need to receive any blood transfusion?"

"I'm fine, Odango… I don't need to go to the hospital or receive a blood transfusion…" Seiya replied on Taiki's behalf.

"Really?"

Seiya nodded with a smile, "But since it an inconvenience for me to move now, I hope that you'll stay here and look after me."

"_What inconvenience? You were very energetic just a minute ago…"_ Taiki frowned at Seiya's scheme to keep Usagi by his side.

And, as expected, Usagi agreed without hesitation. "Of course I will!"

Taiki glared at Seiya for a second longer before looking over to Usagi, smiling faintly. "I'll be going now to find Yaten and the others…"

"I'll go with yo-…"

Usagi paused abruptly, remembering that she couldn't go with Taiki since she needed to take care of Seiya. But even so, she didn't want Taiki to go alone and she wanted to find her friends as well.

"Smart move, Taiki." Seiya praised sarcastically, seeing how his scheme had defeated his. "You can count me in for this one."

"You can't, Seiya! You should be resting." Usagi insisted as she tried to get him to lie back down.

But, he simply caught her hand in his, stopping her from trying to stop him. "I told you before I'm fine. You can't expect me to rest properly when I don't even know what has happened to Yaten and the others right? Besides, I don't wish to put you in a difficult position. So, will you please let me go with you as well? I can promise you that I won't do anything that may affect my condition…"

Usagi hesitated for a second before nodding her head reluctantly. She didn't press it further. There was no point in doing so. Since he had put it that way, there was no chance he would stay and rest even if she told him not to follow. At least, he had made a promise to avoid doing anything reckless, and with Taiki on his side, there shouldn't be any problem right?

"Don't worry, Usagi. There shouldn't be a problem." Taiki replied to her concern.

Usagi nodded and smiled back at him, obviously believing him. The fact that she had always trusted Taiki was something Seiya found hard to tolerate. But, as for Taiki, he didn't think that was the case. He knew she trusted him, but at the same time, there were also a lot of things that she was keeping from him, things that prevented him from ever getting closer to her.

"Before we go, there's something I'd like to clarify with you, Usagi." Taiki brought up when they were proceeding to the entrance.

"Eh? What is it?" Usagi turned around and asked in surprise.

"It's about the Scroll of Muromachi. The foxes that protected it are powerful guardians, and their territory are not easily intruded or demolished. But somehow, part of the realm got tore down and half of the scroll got destroyed. Also, it's strange that we were able to get back here without using the power of the scroll. Are you aware about all these, Usagi?" Taiki asked carefully.

Usagi lowered her head mysteriously and muttered, "Neh Taiki... That's not something I'd want to remember… and you shouldn't know too much either…"

Seiya looked quietly down at Usagi, not liking her unusual change of attitude. Her words were profound, her tone was monotonous, and somehow, he believed that she wasn't smiling at that moment. Regardless, she was still holding onto his hand even after Taiki had reached out and took her other hand in his.

He whispered as he brought her hand closer to his lips, "But I'd like to meet that hidden side of you… Akatsuki..."

--

--

A/N: I should be taking a long break from this story, and maybe give an update on the other stories. I've received many different demands from readers and fans, so I'm not sure whether I should delay the next chapter for the NPA or not. Hmmm… I guess I'll update accordingly depending on the reviews I received ya? Yet again, I hope this chapter interests you to keep reading.

Tell me your thoughts :)! My next goal will be 400 reviews!!


	21. The Empress of Necromancy, Luna

--

Last Chapter:

"_It's about the Scroll of Muromachi. The foxes that protected it are powerful guardians, and their territory are not easily intruded or demolished. But somehow, part of the realm got tore down and half of the scroll got destroyed. Also, it's strange that we were able to get back here without using the power of the scroll. Are you aware about all these, Usagi?" Taiki asked carefully._

_Usagi lowered her head mysteriously and muttered, "Neh Taiki... That's not something I'd want to remember… and you shouldn't know too much either…"_

_Seiya looked quietly down at Usagi, not liking her unusual change of attitude. Her words were profound, her tone was monotonous, and somehow, he believed that she wasn't smiling at that moment. Regardless, she was still holding onto his hand even after Taiki had reached out and took her other hand in his._

_He whispered as he brought her hand closer to his lips, "But I'd like to meet that hidden side of you… Akatsuki..."_

--

* * *

--

**The Empress**** of Necromancy, Luna**

--

Yaten widened his eyes with terror and shock when the Senior Superintendent of the police force signalled his men to arrest Minako, charging her of murder and assault to his sub-division that lay unconscious on the field. Though the band of police led by Kureno wasn't dead, most of them fell into coma and those who managed to regain their conscious couldn't remember anything that had previously happened. Strangely enough, they weren't able to recall ever seeing Hotaru or listening to her music piece before they fell into a deep slumber.

And even though, many of the guests and the members of White Magic Organization still held memories of seeing Yuumei and Hotaru, they kept quiet about ever meeting them, fearing that they might get targeted by the Great Powers if they were to expose the truth to the police. To make matters worse, some of the victims even shoved all the blame on Minako out of convenience, making her the prime suspect for the case.

"Let her go! Why are you arresting Minako? It was the Great Powers… It was them! Minako did nothing wrong!" Yaten yelled at the top of his voice and thrashed about forcefully with no success.

All his limbs were restrained by unyielding hands as three officers held Yaten back and parted him from Minako. He struggled to break free but his strength and power were seized by the heavy chains locked around his wrists. He could do nothing for her besides protesting and urging her to flee.

"Run, Minako! Fight them and escape from here!"

Even though there were five men holding onto her, Yaten was certain that she could fight them off and escape from here with her current abilities. But to his despair, Minako just shook her head and smiled gently at him.

"Why… Why? You don't have to care about me! Just go… Please… Just get out of here!" Yaten pleaded her.

He saw her opening her mouth to reply him, but she was cut off when the Senior Superintendent stepped in and peered sternly down at him. "Are you into this too boy?"

"Let Minako go! She got nothing to do with this!" Yaten retorted stubbornly.

The old man shook his head and pointed his cigarette at Yaten with a smirk. "If she is not responsible for all these… then who is? You?"

"No! It isn't Yaten-sama's fault! Leave him out of this!" Minako protested from behind.

Yaten shook his head in despair as he watched the Senior turned around to face Minako. She just looked expressionlessly back at him as he cupped her chin with his fingers, "And why must I believe a demon like you?"

Minako smirked, "I'm sure you know what those chains on my masters' hands do. No matter how talented he is, do you think he'd still be able to control a level 4 demon like me when he's actually bind up like that? Forget about hurting someone, he couldn't even defend himself."

"So, are you saying that you are the only one responsible?" The Senior asked coolly.

"Will you leave my master out of this if I confess?" Minako bargained.

"Wait, Minako! What are you saying?! Why are you taking the blame? It wasn't even your fault! It's the Great Powers! They did it! Not you!" Yaten yelled.

But no one listened to him. He glared angrily at the crowd of people standing around them, and most of them looked away in guilt. Besides Yaten, no one seemed to care whether Minako got arrested or not, all they were concerned about was themselves.

"Why aren't any of you saying anything? You saw what happened! You knew it was Satan who did it! All of you knew it wasn't Minako's fault! So, why aren't you saying anything?! Tell them! Tell them it was the Great Powers! Tell them!" Yaten demanded.

None of them responded. Yaten swore under his breath, angered to have his suspicious confirmed. They really didn't care what happened to Minako, and as long as they wouldn't get themselves involved with the Great Powers, they would keep quiet.

How ugly.

How despicable.

All these people who supported the World Government were of no different from Satan. No! They were worse! They were selfish cowards who only used the word 'Justice' as an excuse to go against something they were afraid of.

"It's alright, Yaten-sama…"

Yaten's face shot up to Minako's, only to find her smiling back at him. She was hurting him with that grin, a silent gesture to ask him to give up and let her be. He knew it was impossible from the start. He was restrained and couldn't fight them off for her. She wouldn't escape and risk getting him arrested.

In the end, they couldn't even file an appeal because there weren't enough prove to say that the Great Powers even existed, let alone charged them for the damage done. And even if the police knew they were the culprits, they couldn't and wouldn't do anything about it as they didn't have the abilities to take them on. So, in the end, they would have to arrest someone else to close the case, and that person was none other than Minako.

"This is so unfair… Minako…" Yaten breathed, slowly losing his strength when the reality sunk in.

Minako just smiled sadly back and said nothing. She turned away from him when the Senior Superintendent handcuffed her and led her away. The officers holding onto Yaten released him as ordered, and he fell helplessly to the ground. The police didn't even bothered to bring Yaten back for questioning and he couldn't find the strength to chase after them. He was breathing heavily as he watched her go.

Haruka and Ayame dropped down to his side a moment later, not knowing how they should be comforting him besides mimicking his sad expression.

"Here, let me help you." Ayame offered.

He presented him with a small key and volunteered to unlock the chains that were curved around his hands and legs, but Yaten simply slapped his brother's hand away, causing the key to slip out and fall onto the ground.

"What's the use of giving me that when Minako is already gone?! It's useless now! Everything is useless now!" Yaten yelled solemnly.

"I'm sorry, my dear brother." Ayame apologized.

Yaten smirked and looked suspiciously at his brother, "You are sorry? You are telling me you are sorry when you didn't help Minako out even when you can read all those people's thought? You knew it wasn't her fault! You knew she didn't kill anyone! Yet, you didn't say anything?!"

"Please understand, my dear brother. I wasn't the only telepathist in the force. It's useless even if we tell our authority what we heard… It's the Great Powers of Satan we are talking about! No one would bother searching and going against them! The government had signed a treaty with Satan, and no matter what they do, no one in the police force was allowed to touch them without permission from the higher authority… So, please understand, it's not like we didn't want to help… we can't…" Ayame explained.

"Can't? That's a nice excuse, Ayame…" Yaten muttered as he looked away in disgust.

He ignored his brother's protest and reached out for the key that was left abandoned a foot away from him. Picking it up, he struggled to unlock himself but found it harder to do so with the frustration burning inside him.

Haruka patted him on the shoulder, asking him to calm down. "We'll find a way to save Minako…"

Yaten remained silent, allowing Haruka to release him. The pieces of chains and shackles that were once tying him down dropped noisily onto the ground. He got up instantly, not bothered to even thank Haruka and walked off without saying anything. But, even without words, they could tell where he was heading to.

"Wait-…" Ayame tried stopping him, but Haruka held him back, shaking his head to discourage him from stopping Yaten.

"Let him be…"

"But, he can't just go breaking into the prison like that! He'd get himself caught before he could even step into the first wing." Ayame pointed out.

"Do you expect him to sit around and do nothing about it?" Haruka asked on behalf of Yaten.

"He can always wait till Taiki gets better and discuss a plan out with him-…"

"What did you say?" Haruka interrupted in absolute shock.

"You didn't know? Your friend, Taiki Kou collapsed on his way here and was admitted to the hospital."

--

* * *

--

Usagi waited impatiently outside the emergency room. It never did occur to her that Taiki would abruptly collapse before her eyes and wouldn't wake up despite the number of times she called his name. Now, the nurses had even taken Seiya into one of the wards to treat his injuries, leaving her all alone to deal with her own anxiety.

As Usagi leaned against the wall, she overheard the conversation between two older women who happened to walk past her. They were gossiping about the news of Minako getting arrested by the police. Usagi's eyes shot up in complete shock at what she had heard, but before she could even run over to question them, a doctor came through the pair of doors and called out for her.

Dropping her thoughts, Usagi hurried over and demanded worriedly, "Is Taiki going to be alright?"

The doctor nodded, "He's fine, but he won't be if he doesn't compromise with us and rest well. You see, miss, intellectually gifted people, especially one as highly intelligent as him, need to engage in more REM sleep than normal people do. But according to our analysis, your friend hadn't been sleeping at all lately and the neurons in his brain apoptosis faster than they could replenish, meaning his healthy membranes are dying sooner…"

"What? Taiki is going to die?!" Usagi burst out, unable to pick out strings of the medical vocabulary that the doctor was uttering to her.

"No, that's not what I meant-…" the doctor trailed off.

"What the doctor meant was that as long as the damn genius sleep through a day or two, he'd be fine."

Usagi turned around to face the familiar voice and immediately broke out a smile when she saw Seiya getting wheeled out on a wheelchair. She darted past the doctor and dropped on her knees in front of him, peering at him with her pair of worried eyes.

"I'm fine… nothing more than just bruises and cuts. They said I should be completely healed soon." Seiya told Usagi right before she could open her mouth to ask.

"Really?" Usagi asked, looking up at the two nurses besides him but they just looked away awkwardly.

Then, another familiar voice answered on their behalf, "Of course it's real. He just didn't include the few broken bones and stitches which can be found in his medical record."

Usagi's eyes flickered over to the swinging doors of the emergency room just as Taiki was getting wheeled out. He sat up from the stretcher, ignoring the nurse who tried to get him to lie back down. Usagi instantly darted over to him, taking his hands into hers, while Seiya groaned in displeased and used his PK energy to wheel himself over.

"Taiki! I'm so glad that you managed to wake up! I was so scared when you fainted back then… You weren't moving, and I kept calling you… bu-but… you didn't reply me... an-and..." Usagi cried, not knowing how she should be finishing her sentence.

Taiki smiled and patted her on the head, "Shh… It's okay now, so don't cry. I'm fine…"

"No, you are not! The doctor said that you're going to die if you don't get enough EMG sleep." Usagi shrieked.

Taiki sighed, "It's REM sleep, Usagi. And nothing bad is going to happen to me whether or not I get enough rest…"

"Who are you trying to fool when you just collapsed out of exhaustion, damn genius?" Seiya pointed out, glaring at Taiki and their locked hands.

"At least I still have my bones intact and I don't need stitches unlike someone here." Taiki smiled calmly back.

"Should I remind you of how I've gotten all these injuries then?" Seiya retorted coolly.

"This is not the time to be arguing!" Usagi snapped at them, forgetting that she shouldn't be raising her voice in the hospital.

Both Seiya and Taiki looked away in embarrassment as the doctor warned them to lower their volume since they were disturbing the other patients. Usagi let out a heavy sigh before following the nurses when they transport her friends to an empty room down the hall.

Seiya was assigned a bed next to Taiki's, and though he wasn't pleased about sharing the same room as his rival, he didn't refuse the arrangement as he didn't want to further upset Usagi. Taiki said nothing either until the doctor pressed him to consume the sleeping tablets prescribed so as to ensure that he'd sleep through the night.

"I'm a doctor too and I know my condition better than you do. I don't need any medication or spend a night here. My friends are in trouble and they need me. I request to be discharged by tonight." Taiki refused stubbornly.

The doctor sighed at his refusal but before he could try reasoning with Taiki, Usagi cut in and requested the tablets from him. Running out of ideas, the doctor did as he was told and handed the two pills over to Usagi, seeing that she might be able to convince him to take the medication.

But to everyone's astonishment, Usagi tossed the two pills into her mouth and sipped a cup of water as though she was going to consume them. She moved in quickly, covering both Taiki's cheeks with her hands and bringing his lips to hers before he could even react. Her hands quickly flew to the back of his head, keeping him close to her as she pried his lips open with minimal effort to let the pills flow in.

It was pretty clear that Usagi was forcefully trying to make Taiki consume his medication though he wasn't struggling, but Seiya couldn't help but glowered at the kissing scene before him. The jealousy that flared inside him hurt a hundred times more than his exterior injuries. He could hardly repress his urge to break the two of them apart, and he barely managed to keep his cool. The only thing that was restraining him was the fact that Usagi would be extremely upset if Taiki doesn't get well, and he didn't want to cause her anymore fret.

Taiki had already swallowed the pills by the time they broke apart. He peered at her, blushing slightly, surprised to see her smiling gently back at him. She placed her finger over his lips, preventing him from saying anything.

"Sleep, and if you do that, I will let you meet Akatsuki." Usagi told him in a whisper.

She removed her finger, not noticing the faint pink coating on his cheeks. He looked quietly back at her and she just smiled innocently back, saying, "It's my turn to protect you tonight. I promise I won't let anything bad happen…"

--

* * *

--

Haruka wandered around the hospital ward in a lost. Patients were pouring in, most of them whom he recognized as _cowards_ who escaped from being slaughtered by the Great Powers. He grimaced at them, finding no reasons why they should even be treated or comforted when Minako was left to suffer in the prison cell all because of their selfishness. Now, they even occupied most of the doctors and nurses time, giving him no chance to enquiry anyone about where his friends were.

When he was about to abandon his search on the seventh floor, a blonde accompanied by a doctor and nurses came out from the room that was located by the end of the corridor. Haruka's eyes lit up in joy when he saw Usagi expressing her gratitude to the doctor before they left.

He called out to her just before she reached for the doorknob, "Usagi!"

Usagi turned towards the call and widened her eyes in surprise, "Haruka?"

He quickly sprinted over to her, disregarding the hospital rules in his haste, and questioned her right before she could ask him anything. "Usagi, I heard Taiki fainted. How is he?"

"He's fine now. The doctor said he just needs some good rest…"

"Good, let me see him…" Haruka requested, reaching for the door.

But to his surprise, Usagi simply extended her hand out and blocked the door. She shook her head at him, ignoring the startled expression on his face."No, Taiki is asleep now. I don't want anyone to be disturbing him."

"But Usagi, I need to talk to him, it's about Minako-…" Haruka trailed off.

"I know..." Usagi interrupted him.

"You know?"

"I know that Minako got arrested and Yaten was planning to save her tonight… I even know that Yuki had managed to save Tohru and escape out of the state… Those were what Taiki told me. But, I'm sorry, Haruka. Even though we're all worried, I can't allow Seiya or Taiki to help any of them tonight." Usagi replied bluntly.

"What?! But why?" Haruka almost burst out at her.

"Because they are in no condition to be anywhere out of bed." She told him simply.

"What about you? You can help them right?"

Usagi shook her head, "Sorry, I won't be going anyway tonight. I've got to stay here and look after Seiya and Taiki."

"If you do that, what will happen to Minako and Yaten then? You can't just allow them to get locked up and do nothing about it!"

"Then, can you guarantee that nothing bad will happen to both Seiya and Taiki when I'm gone?" Usagi asked in a flat expression.

Haruka went silent for a moment, taken aback by her serious look. She wasn't smiling and was especially firm with her words, something he hadn't got used to at the moment. She sighed, shaking her head lightly, "You don't understand, Haruka. Satan has sent spies to watch over us. They've managed to hurt Seiya once, and I don't want that to happen again."

"Then how about calling Yuumei out? She was the one responsible for everything… she should be jailed! Not Minako…" Haruka suggested.

"Why should she? Yuumei is only doing her job. She did nothing wrong."

Haruka threw her a shock look, "Killing and hurting others is nothing wrong? What are you saying, Usagi?"

"She's part of the Great Powers of Satan, Haruka. This is what they do. If you think what they are doing is wrong, then what about those adults who accused Minako just because they are afraid of Satan? Besides, I haven't seen Yuumei ever since she returned to Satan for my sake…"

"Your sake?" He repeated the words quizzically.

Usagi smiled sadly, "Do you remember the dream you had that predicted me leaving? And, because a precognition sensor only sees what fate had already written, it's unavoidable for anyone to go against it… which is why Yuumei chose to become my substitute, and she went back to Satan in my place. So I, more than anyone else, don't have any right to see her..."

Haruka opened his mouth, making an attempt to question her further, but he couldn't speak. He shut his mouth a second later, not knowing what else he should say to her now. Knowing Usagi, he knew that she would never abandon her friends when they were in trouble, and she must be trapped in a very difficult position right now.

"I get it. I'll find Yaten and come back tomorrow. I hope Taiki and Seiya will get well soon." Haruka nodded at her before he turned around and walked away.

Usagi shut her eyes and let out a tired breath as she watched him leave. After Haruka was out of sight, she entered the room quietly, careful not to wake Taiki, but was startled to find that the bed besides his was empty. Immediately, her eyes flew towards the open windows that were letting in chilly, night air, before her hands flew to cover her opened mouth.

"_Seiya!"_

--

* * *

--

Yaten could already see the outline of the capital prison that Minako had been taken into custody. The entire place was surrounded by electrified fencing, concertina wire and, multiple barriers to prevent escape and intrusion. From the look of it, it seemed highly impossible to sneak in unless he entered by the main entrance which was guarded by two, big prison guards and their hellhounds.

--

"_Hellhound__ was a dog of Hell, and had typical of black fur color, glowing red eyes, and super strength and speed. Other phantom characteristics included having the abilities to talk and breathed fire. As they were often assigned to guard the entrances to the underworld, it'd need a highly levelled and trained necromancer to summon and control them." – Story information._

--

He remained in his hiding place, thinking of a plan to get past the ultimate defence without getting killed. For all he knew, there were rarely any summoned creatures that could win against the Hellhounds, and even an overpowering level 4 demon would face difficulties fighting them. Besides, in his current physically drained body, he already knew he wouldn't last with the Hellhounds no matter what powerful minions he called forth.

Yaten let out a breath of frustration, determined to break in and save Minako despite his zero chance of winning. Just when he was about to step out from his hiding location, he heard a meow sound coming from above him.

He looked up, his eyes enlarged by a little at the small, black cat looking down at him from above the tree branch. As the wind caught up and moved the dark clouds to reveal the full moon, he managed to catch a glimpse of a crescent-shaped mark imprinted on its forehead.

Yaten narrowed his eyes at the strange cat, as it continued to stare down at him as though it was trying to communicate to him. Acting on the unexplainable feeling he felt, he raised both his hands out at it, and as soon as he did, the cat leapt off from the branch.

But instead of catching it steadily with his hands, he found himself falling backward as the animal bizarrely changed into a girl and landed on top of him. At this, Yaten's eyes snapped open from shock, staring up into her wide red ones.

She smiled at him before pushing herself off his chest carefully and apologizing. "Ah, I'm sorry. That silly spell wears off at the wrong time…"

Yaten laid there blinking a few times in disbelief. Did he just caught a cat that could turn itself into a girl, or was he just imagining things? But as much as he wanted to believe that she wasn't real, she didn't appear to be an imagination. He continued gaping at her as she ran her hand through her long, wavy strands, straightening out the dark mess. For a moment, he thought that she looked like a doll, dreamy and beautiful, but the second she turned to face him, his jaw dropped slightly at the familiar crescent symbol marked on her forehead.

He shut his mouth only to open it again in attempt to say something, "What… who are you?"

She pointed at herself happily, "Me, Luna."

"Luna?" He repeated her name in a murmur as though he couldn't understand her.

She nodded with a smile, "Yes, Luna. I don't have a last name."

"Th-the cat? But you were a cat a minute ago."

"Yes, they are both me…" She replied simply.

"What?"

"You see, I've lived in this world for a long, long time and changed my appearance more than I can remember…" Luna told him as she stood up to straighten her long dress before turning to face him seriously, "So long ago… that I've forgotten how I really look like…"

Yaten was shocked silent by her strange remark as he watched her held out her hand to help him up. But for a brief moment, all Yaten could do was stare at her hand, still trying to let the information that she had just told him sink in. When he finally figured out what she wanted him to do with her hand, he ignored her assist and stood up on his own while brushing off his pants.

Luna dropped her hand back to her side and shrugged at his unfriendly attitude. Her eyes wandered and settled themselves at the prison zone that was a field away from them.

She pointed at it, "You are intending to go there too?"

"It's none of your business." Yaten replied uncaringly as he started to walk away from her.

Luna ran forward and caught up with him, "Don't say that… You did lend me a hand when I called for you… So, maybe I can help you…?"

"No one can help me. Go home." He rejected coolly.

When she ignored him and kept following, Yaten stopped his steps and turned around to look at her impatiently. She giggled at his stern look and muttered, "You really look like someone whom I know a long time ago…"

Yaten sighed, "Look, I don't care who you are or who I might look like to you. You'll get yourself hurt if you don't leave now. I'm being very serious here."

"I'm very serious about helping you too." Luna insisted.

"I already told you that…"

"…That you can save her on your own? And how are you going to do that in your present condition when every prison guards and authorities in there are at least three levels above you?" She cut in casually.

Yaten widened his eyes at her question for a second before dropping his face and clutching his hands into fists angrily, "And? What do you expect me to do? Do you think telling me will do any good? I already knew all that! But I just can't do nothing about it and let them continue holding Minako in prison. Hasn't she gone through enough just by being with me already? Must she suffer more and die there? She's innocent! She did nothing wrong to deserve all these!"

There was a moment of silence as a gust of wind blew dried leaves past them.

"Then you should kill whoever that stands in between your way and hers…"

Yaten's face shot up to Luna's, completely caught off guard. That wasn't what he had anticipated to hear. Not even close. He had expected her to console him or, at least drop the idea of following him, but she had asked him to kill instead? Murdering wasn't something he had done before, and he couldn't bring himself to kill anyone despite how much hatred he held in him.

Luna sighed and shook her head at him, "You're talented, but too kind. You'll forever remain in that level if you aren't willing to harm anyone. But since you lend me a hand just now plus I initially intended to go there, I'll help you out for once and show you why most people in this world don't deserve your kindness…"

She had already dashed past him before he could even react and stop her. He yelled at her, asking her to come back but she had already stepped into the security parameters, causing the alarms and horns to sound. The high beams from the watch towers came on and flashed themselves onto the couple as a line of prison guards rushed out and surrounded them in a tight radius.

They aimed their various weapons at the two intruders as the hellhounds growled fiercely, ready to charge out and attacked them upon command. While Yaten cursed under his breath at the ugly situation that they were caught, Luna appeared to be as relax as ever, her eyes showing no trace of fear as one of the guard pointed his sharp weapon out at her.

"Who are you people? What are you doing here at a time like this?" He demanded.

Luna opened her mouth to reply, but was yanked back by Yaten before she could even utter a word. He kept her behind him, away from the dangerous objects, and she blinked at him in surprise by his protective manner. As far as she could remember, no one had ever try protecting her as though she was some sort of weak, innocent girl, and his action did trigger some memories and feelings she had with a certain someone long ago.

"She has nothing to do with this. She just stepped in here by mistake." Yaten told them bluntly.

"You think we'll fall for your lies? You better tell us the truth or we will attack the both of you here and now!"

"No, no…" Luna opposed and pushed her way past Yaten till she was standing next to him.

He widened his eyes at her in astonishment as she pointed her finger at them, demanding, "All of you better contact your Superintendent General to come here at once to meet me before I tear his whole prison down."

"Are you crazy? Do you actually understand what you have just said?!" Yaten half-yelled at her as the guards mimicked his shock expression.

"Call Superintendent General or tear prison down…" Luna repeated innocently.

"You stupid girl!" Yaten yelled, not knowing what else to say besides the first thing that popped into his mind.

She peered back at him with a pair of watery red eyes, pointing to herself, "I'm stupid?"

"Yes, you are! Do you know that I'm trying my hardest to save you here? So, stop trying to make things worse for me!" He scolded.

"But I'm really here to demolish this place…" Luna insisted as though she was trying to convince him that she wasn't stupid.

"Stop the foolish joke! The both of you are coming with us and are under arrested for trespassing! Men, seize them!" The leader ordered.

The prison guards extended their hands out together as thick sliver chains shot out from beneath their long sleeves, all targeting to cuff their way at the couple. Yaten grabbed Luna by her hand and pulled her back into a safe distance. A circular sigil which made up of several complex symbols appeared within his radius a second later before a circle of serpent-looking wards merged out from the ground and protected them from the flying chains.

Luna widened her eyes with interest at the unique formation that made up of a series of different human-sized serpents. It had been a long time since she last witnessed someone summoning a creation that wasn't a copy of her works. She cheered when the huge snake-like wards shot out acidic sprays at the prison guards.

"Wa! I've never seen a formation like this before! Though they will eventually be killed by the hellhounds, you're really a genius for coming up with something this innovative." Luna nodded at Yaten excitedly, making him glanced back at her with an unenthusiastic look.

As she had predicted, the serpent wards died and retreated back into the ground once the hellhounds fired a wave of flame at them. The prison guards smirked at the couple as Yaten prepared himself for the next attack.

"The two of you should just give up and come with us. Boy, you're a necromancer too. I'm sure you know that there are rarely any creatures that can compete with the hellhounds." The leader told them and the others laughed.

Yaten kept quiet at the remarks, unable to come out with anything to go against his facts. He did manage to hold his cool, but immediately dropped it when Luna stepped out from behind him as she challenged the prison guards once more.

"Really? Then would you might telling me the recipe to summon a single hellhound…"

The guards dropped their laughter at her question, their expression turned serious, as Yaten tried holding her back from going too near to the hellhounds. She stopped moving and looked back at him with a hardly visible smile, asking, "What about you? Do you know what the recipe is?"

Yaten just stared speechlessly back at her, his startled and clueless expression giving his thoughts away. It wasn't in his knowledge, and as far as he knew, no necromancy books or scrolls had ever taught the method to summon these fearsome creatures. At first, he took into account that it was forbidden, but if it was illegal, then how and why were the guards allowed to use them to defend the capital prison?

"Four hundred and forty-four souls…" Luna muttered lowly.

Yaten peered at her in disbelief. It took him a second to decipher the statement as she repeated herself.

"The recipe is four hundred and forty-four strong, living souls sacrificed to summon one of those. They were souls that would never get the chance to reincarnate and have a new life again. My, I wonder how many poor, innocent ones died just to obtain those two little fierce things." Luna smirked and looked uncaringly at the hellhounds.

"What?" Yaten burst out as he turned around and glared at the prison guards who were looking anything but guilty. "Rituals that used human sacrifice are forbidden! How the hell can all of you still perform and used them so openly?!"

"What's the problem? We got permission from the world government to use them. No one has the right to blame or punish us!" One of the guards exclaimed.

"I do."

Everyone turned their attention back to Luna as she arched her eyebrows at the prison guards in displease, "I was the one who banned it. So, what makes all of you think you can go unpunished after breaking my law?"

"We don't know what nonsense you're saying! And we won't care! Hounds, seize them now!" The leader ordered the two hellhounds to attack.

But instead of obeying his command, the two dogs whined softly and dropped their heads as soon as Luna lowered her eyes at them. She extended her hand out to them and instructed softly, "Come here, boys."

Much to everyone's astonishment, the hellhounds obediently went to her side, ignoring whatever command given to them from the guards. Yaten dropped his jaws at Luna when she bent over and patted the two hellhounds on their heads as though they were her pets. He had never learnt or came across anyone who could freely control others' minions, not to mention two deadly hellhounds that weren't even supposed to be serving anyone on earth. Besides, to take over others' summoned creatures greatly defied the Law of Conjuration.

No!

It wasn't even possible to begin with!

But here he was, watching a girl whom he just met patting two hell dogs that weren't even summoned by her. Who on earth was she?

"Ah, good boys. I'll send the both of you back to where you truly belong after I'm done punishing all these naughty children who don't follow my rules." She muttered with a tiny smile before standing back up to face the row of prison guards who were in shock.

As the men called for backups, more guards and officers were sent out into the open, forming a crowd in the open night field. Yaten stood perfectly still, not believing the outrageous situation that he was caught in. Not even in his wildest dream would he imagine himself facing so many highly trained officers and psychics. It left him half wondering if he was going to die, making Luna giggled at his worried expression.

"Does this look funny to you?!" Yaten shrieked at her as he gestured at the crowd.

"Don't shout at me. I was just trying to save time…" She explained unclearly.

"What? For our deaths? I got to save Minako! I can't just die here!" He snapped.

She patted him on his shoulder calmly, "Why are you getting so heat up for? They can't kill us with such small number of people."

"You called this small?! There are more than a hundred of them!" He exclaimed, trying to knock some sense into her.

Luna shrugged and continued to argue with Yaten, ignoring the prison governor who made his way into the crowd while carrying an oversized bazooka on his right shoulder. He shouted across to the pair, drawing their attention to him and his huge weapon that was a size of four men put together.

But before he could even start introducing himself, Luna cut in and shook her finger at him, "I'm not looking for you. Contact your superior. No, the one after, after, and after yours… that Luna is here to see him…"

Yaten had his forehead covered with his hand and was shaking his head back and forth. He gave up. She could continue to act brainlessly, and dragged them closer to death, he didn't care anymore. He sighed and looked away, not wanting to see the angry expression on the prison governor face.

The governor was already shouting and threatening to kill her, but Luna was looking anything but intimidated.

"1,336…" She whispered a number as Yaten looked curiously back at her.

The crowd grew silent as the hellhounds barked at them, warning them to stay away from their mistress. Some of guards took a step back when the hell dogs ignited a circle of fire and formed a protective zone around Luna and Yaten. The governor simply laughed at the frail defence as he pointed his rocket launcher at the pair.

Luna shook her head at him and warned, "You won't want to aim that at me because there are exactly 1,336 corpses in the prison district. It's 10 times more than what you have here... and if you open your fire on me, they will all launch out at you."

"What nonsense." The governor murmured before the huge opening of his bazooka began to light up, drawing up a blast of energy and firing it out at them.

"Watch out!"

Yaten shouted as he reached his hand out for Luna's, but he couldn't reach her. Instead, he felt himself being lifted into the air, away from the explosion site and into a safe distance. He couldn't even appreciate his once in a lifetime chance to ride on the back of a hellhound as his eyes widened around in search for Luna. From above, he found her standing calmly behind the explosion. She raised her hands up as the floor below them began to glow and tremble.

Low groans and cries echoed before skeleton and deformed hands shot out from the misty field. Seconds later, corpses of the dead were seen crawling out as they marched towards Luna, forming an army of a thousand dead soldiers behind her.

"Turn them into one of you." She ordered bluntly, pointing at the crowd of prison officers and guards who were stunned speechlessly.

Yaten had already forgotten how to breathe as he watched the vicious battle happening before him. What was happening here? His head couldn't come out with any logical explanation to explain how anyone could control a thousand over corpses all at once when it was already humanly impossible to summon more than five minions in a single ritual.

But seeing that this was his opportunity to save Minako, he couldn't bring himself to care about anything else besides finding her. Immediately, he got off the back of the hellhound as he tried to make his way past the dangerous battlefield and into the prison. But, judging at the chaos before him, it seemed very unlikely that he could make it to wherever Minako was in one piece.

"Get back on. I'll bring you there."

Yaten spun around and widened his eyes in absolute surprise at the hellhound talking to him.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not helping you… It's the order from the Empress." It added and barked, urging him to climb onto it.

"The Empress?"

Yaten didn't have the time to think much as he quickly jumped back up onto the hound's back. Without hesitation, it shot past the battle zone, through the prison gate, into the first and second wings in an incredibly fast speed. Alarms rang at every wings Yaten went past as prison guards and officers battled among the creatures and corpses summoned inside. Some of the prisoners even joined in the fight in the attempt to escape from their cells.

Soon, he reached the final wings where highly dangerous and powerful criminals were kept. The hallway that held the row of cell rooms was creepily cold and quiet. Strangely, there wasn't a single guard securing the place. Either they had all abandoned their duties to aid the on-going battle or there was no single guard who could handle the suffocating pressure the place itself held.

Yaten could feel his body slowly weakening as he proceeded deeper down the hallway. His power seemed to have died down as though someone had internally removed it, leaving him feeling empty inside. He bit his lips in determination to remain strong as the hellhound abruptly stopped before a large metal door.

"We're here." It informed.

Without hesitation, Yaten jumped out from its back and raced for the door. But before he could even come to a foot close to it, two tall statue-looking figures suddenly appeared out of no where and blocked his exit with their spears crossed in front of the door. The sudden appearance of the two stone statues made Yaten took a few steps back as the hellhound explained to him.

"They are the special guarding device designed to represent the two guardians of Hell. I heard they stole the idea from the Satan Organization, and though these two are nothing like the real thing, no one has ever broken though their defence before. So, kid, I suggest you to back off now."

Yaten ignored his comment and scowled at the two statues in consideration to break it down. And as though his thought could be heard, the stones unexpectedly drew their spears back to their sides and disappeared into the walls. Yaten blinked at this in surprise as the sound of approaching footsteps got louder.

"Our leader won't be happy if he finds out about his guardian's idea being stolen..."

Yaten turned around to face the source of the familiar voice. He widened his eyes when he saw Luna walking towards him while accompanied by an older gentleman attired in a general suit pinned with numerous of shiny badges. Even though Yaten had never met him before, he appeared to be the Superintendent General of the Police Force. Following them were the prisoner governor and a few officers who had their heads dropped low in shame.

"No, we didn't mean to offend the Founder of Satan, Ma'am Luna. And I'll appreciate it if you don't bring this up in the coming Counsel of Kings…" The general requested politely.

--

"_Counsel of Kings was a meeting that would take place once every ten years whereby Leaders of nations gathered to discuss about matters that would affect the world. Often, a war would start between the leaders and kings if one was to upset the other." – Story information._

--

"Open the door!" Yaten growled at the general fiercely, cutting into the conversation.

"Yes, open it." Luna nodded.

The old general frowned at Yaten in dislike, but ordered his men to unlock the metal door as he didn't wish to offend Luna. Yaten rushed into the cell as soon as the door flung open and was appalled by the sight before him. Minako with her hands and legs cuffed were pinned against the wall in a wretched condition. Her head was down and her body was bloody and wet. She didn't appear to be conscious as Yaten dashed over and shouted her name.

He cupped her dirtied face gently with his shaky hands as his eyes slowly scanned through her badly beaten up body. All of the sudden, he felt a cold shiver ran down his spine and his mind went blank from the terribly strong spiteful feeling that shot him hard.

At that moment, he felt like murdering someone.

The person who hurt Minako…

The people who took her away from him…

And, those who made her suffer…

… Shall all die!

"Yes, die! All of you shall just die!" Yaten yelled before a circular sigil that covered the entire cell emerged suddenly.

Taken aback, everyone including Luna could only glanced wildly around the chamber that had weird purplish symbols suddenly glowing on the surrounding walls and floor. Impossible. This chamber was designed to put all powers of any users, even unique-levelled, to sleep. So, how was it possible for a weak, unknown boy to create a dark portal and summoned out a monstrous-looking winged devil before them?

"Lucifer…" Luna muttered the name of the fearsome monster that tried crawling out of the big hole.

--

_Lucifer__ was a deformed archangel fallen from Heaven, and was the leader of the Doomguard in Hell. It was believed that upon summon, it was unstoppable and could easily wiped out an entire country before consuming the soul of its summoner to return to Hell. Because it was an associate of the Dark Lord, it was considered as a legendary summon, an urban myth that could only be read in fairytales" – Story information._

--

Without wasting a moment, Luna repelled the summoning portal as three heavenly poles shot down from above and blocked the access. Lucifer roared loudly in the attempt to break the strong fencing, but Luna ignored his rage and stomped over to Yaten, raising her hand at him.

-SMACK-

The crack of her slap echoed throughout the room. Yaten stood there, quietly facing the floor, as he lifted his hand to graze his cheek. She hadn't hurt him physically but her slap was enough to wake him.

"You stupid boy! This isn't the time to be throwing your tantrum! Wake up! She needs you!" Luna snapped at him.

Yaten turned and face her slowly, his initial blank expression returning to normal. Soon, the chamber grew quiet as the portal closed and vanished along with the symbols on the walls. The rest of the people in the room could finally breathe at the disappearance of the fearsome-looking monster. Yaten, on the other hand, continued to stare at Luna as if he didn't understand what he had just done. She smiled warmly at him and he blinked back before coming to his sense.

"Release Minako! Release her now!" Yaten demanded as he yanked the chains and shackles that locked Minako to the wall.

Luna nodded at the Superintendent General, silently instructing him to release Minako. Upon command, his men hurried over and did so promptly, shoving the keys in and tearing off the heavy chains. Yaten caught the blood drenched Minako into his arms as he called out to her in hope that she'd open her eyes and reply him somehow.

Minako lay motionless in his arms, limp and void of life. He wouldn't have been able to tell that she was alive if it wasn't for subtle rise and fall of her chest. Her breathing was labored and coming out less frequently. He could tell that her pulse was weakening before he even placed his finger against her neck.

Yaten swallowed nervously, realizing that it was too late now. She wouldn't be able to make it to the hospital, and she would die any moment in his arms. He couldn't allow her to be taken away from him like that. It just wasn't fair. He had worked so hard to save her and for the chance to be together, and yet, it ended with her death?

In the end, he still wasn't able to do anything for her at all…

"Come, let me have a look at her…"

Yaten flinched, finally coming to his sense as his face shot back up Luna's. She smiled at him before taking Minako over and setting her gently down on her lap. "She's lucky to be born a demon…"

"Lucky?" Yaten asked softly, not sure if he had heard her correctly.

Luna nodded, "Because if she was a human, I won't be able to help her…"

She finished as her hand that was placed gently on top of Minako's forehead began to glow. The bright light caused a cluster of symbols to spread throughout her badly wounded body. Everyone widened their eyes and Yaten could feel his heart skipped by a beat when the injuries on Minako slowly closed up on their own.

By the time Luna lifted her hand away, most of the cuts on Minako had vanished together with the strange emblems. Her breathing had returned to a slow, peaceful pace, and the color on her face had turned back to normal. Yaten smiled for the first time that day when he felt her frigid hand make the slightest movement as she lifted her eyelids slowly.

"Minako…!" He called out and clutched her protectively back in his arms.

"Yaten-sama…" She breathed, reaching her hand to touch his face as he pressed his lips against her forehead.

"It's alright… everything is alright now." He told her softly.

Luna turned away from the loving scene and looked at the Superintendent General with a flat expression. "I'll overlook whatever unauthorized matters you're secretly doing behind us provided you release this girl and promise to keep the things that you've witnessed tonight a secret, including the summon of Lucifer."

The general nodded with a faint smile, "I'm willing to give in to any condition you ask, Ma'am Luna, so long as you agree to make matters easy for me during the Council of Kings…"

Luna smirked and walked a step past the general as she murmured, "Remember, I won't make things easy for you if you were to leak a word out. By then, not just me, but the other three Emperors will appear before you too…"

Those were her final warning before Luna left with Yaten and Minako. The general just stood there silently, his lips curved into a disgusted smile. His men murmured among themselves as the prison governor faced his superior anxiously, "Sire, is it alright to just let them go like that?"

He nodded without a single word.

"But sire-…"

"Do you know who that woman is?" His general cut in.

The governor just stared blankly at him, "Woman? You mean that little girl?"

"Little girl? She's a thousand or maybe ten thousand years older than the both of us... No one dare to address the Empress of Necromancy as a little girl."

"Em-em-empress of Necromancy?! She isn't just a myth?!" He burst out.

The general laughed, "Ha! Myth? My soldier, you have just met the Mother and Creator of every demonology laws and black arts found throughout history. Her power has already reached a legendary level, way above anyone's league, making her one of the Four Emperors…"

"The Yonkou? You mean she's one of the Four Great Emperors that side Satan?!"

--

"_The word, Yonkou, meant__ the Four Emperors in Japanese." – Translation._

--

"Yes, she and the other three Emperors served as the biggest threat to the World Government, which is why we mustn't offend her. But that isn't anything surprising… what I'm amazed by is the boy that was with her." The general muttered, rubbing his chin in consideration.

"Sire, you're referring to Yaten Kou?"

The general raised his brows at his subordinate, "That's his name?"

"Yes, he's one of the Aces, sire."

"Aces… I heard about them… Kids of unique level… but I didn't know that one of them is on path with an Emperor league…"

"You mean…" The governor hitched.

"Didn't you see that he almost portal out a legendary doom angel? Only someone who stands on the same level as the Four Emperors could perform such impossible phenomenon…"

The prisoner governor stood there, completely dumbfounded for a moment before bursting out, "That's one big news, sire! Shouldn't we report to the authority at once?"

The Superintendent General smiled and shook his head, "No, I wouldn't do that…"

"But sire, why wouldn't you? It might be the birth of a new Emperor…!"

"Offending the Empress or getting involved with the Yonkou isn't my area of interest. Besides, I wouldn't want to get myself into the mess that is about to take place soon…"

--

* * *

--

Haruka straightened up in his driver's seat as he listened to Seiya apologized to Usagi over the phone for the eleventh time in that one minute of their conversation. He took his eyes off the road for a second and stole a glance at Seiya gazing apologetically at the windshield as though there was a Usagi standing before him. He giggled at his friend's troubled expression before shifting his attention back on the road when Seiya turned to glare at him.

"Don't worry, with such a heavy traffic up ahead, you can spend the next hour apologizing to Usagi. I'm sure she will forgive you for running off like that…" Haruka commented casually.

Seiya ignored him, turning worried when he heard Usagi sniffing over the phone.

"Odango, please don't cry. I'm sorry. How many times do I have to apologize until you forgive me?"

"Baka Seiya! I'm not going to forgive you! You don't know how worried I was when I found that you were gone! I thought you were kidnapped! Can't you understand how scared I was? How can do that to me?! I hate you! I hate you so much!"

Seiya stiffened at the words that had just drifted out of her mouth. He hadn't meant to upset her or made her despised him. He just wanted to save his friends on her and Taiki's behalf. He could tell that Usagi was worried about Minako being held in prison and the whole idea of Yaten trying to save her on his own. And because she didn't want to abandon Taiki when he needed her the most, she was left feeling helpless and troubled, yet she had to keep up with pretending that she was happy so as not to make anyone worried for her.

Seiya, more than anyone, couldn't stand her behaving in such a distress state. So, even if he knew that she would get mad at him, he'd still help Yaten get Minako out of prison tonight. It didn't even occur to him that he was injured and was in no condition to be moving about. All that matters to him was her happiness and his friends' safety. Why couldn't she see that? Why must she hate him when he actually loved her so much? He was even tolerant enough to let Taiki spend a night under her care. Yet, she hated him? Why?

"I'm sorry…" He breathed sadly, not knowing what else he could say to ask for her forgiveness.

Seiya dropped his face, expecting her to yell at him some more, but she was strangely quiet on the other end. He couldn't even hear her breathing anymore. Starting to believe that she had actually hung up on him, Seiya almost dropped the phone only to hold it securely back to his ear when he heard her soft whispers.

"I'm sorry, Seiya. I didn't mean to say that… I don't hate you… I just want you to come back safe so we can be together… So, please, don't ever believe that I hate you because… actually, I-I… I lov-…"

_-Beep-_

The cell phone had officially died from insufficient battery.

"Shit! You stupid phone! Don't die on me now! Get her back on!" Seiya snapped at the device as he struggled to bring the cell phone back to its function.

"It's not a stupid phone. It belongs to your best friend, Taiki Kou… So, if you ask me, it's the smartest phone around." Haruka commented with a nod.

"Sure! This crap is smart enough to cut me off at the most crucial time!" Seiya replied sarcastically before retorting, "And why the hell is that damn genius' phone here with us?!"

Haruka shrugged, "We didn't bring ours. And after all, this is his car we're using. So, it's pretty reasonable for us to find his phone in here."

"Go to hell, you damn genius!"

Seiya had already winded down the window to toss the cell phone out even before Haruka could stop him. It flew and broke through another car's glass window, but none of the two boys were considerate enough to pull over and apologize. Instead, Haruka stepped on the accelerator and sped forward.

Although they were moving again, they only managed to go speed limit at most. Haruka slowed down again as they approached another long line of cars. Ambulances were squeezing their way through the aisles of cars, and they were forced to back up quite a distance to make way for those emergency vehicles that were rushing their way to the accident site.

"It seems like those ambulances are heading for the capital prison as well." Seiya concluded.

"Yes, it's only about three miles away from where we are stuck now." Haruka nodded.

"Three miles hm?" Seiya muttered to himself before sighing and instructing Haruka to off the engine.

"I still have some energy left. So, let's not waste anymore time waiting for traffic. We're going to fly there." Seiya declared plainly as the car began to lift itself up into the air.

Haruka couldn't even find an open opportunity to protest when their sports car simply raced through the air on its own, and before he knew it, it landed a bit clumsily on a dark field, away from the heavy traffic and facing an aftermath of a battle site. Haruka turned to check on Seiya immediately, ignoring all that was happening outside.

"Are you alright?"

Seiya nodded, still panting heavily. He felt his energy vanished from his body, making him lay back on the seat for support.

Haruka shook his head at him, "How reckless can you get? You're already injured. Yet, you still pushed yourself over the limit? Usagi would kill you if she finds out about this…"

"Please… don't tell her…" Seiya managed to breathe out between his breaths.

Haruka turned to face the windscreen with a sigh, surprised to see Yaten running towards their direction with an unconscious Minako in his arms. Without thinking, he immediately got out from his driver's seat and hurried over to the couple.

"We need to get her to the hospital-…" Yaten rushed, only to pause in the middle when he noticed a familiar figure pushing himself out of the car.

Yaten's eyes widened in disbelief as Seiya looked over at him with a smile. "Hey…"

"Seiya…"

"Usagi and Taiki too… They are back…" Haruka added the good news.

An expression of relief passed Yaten's face when he heard Haruka said this. No one could understand how good those words sounded to him. To finally see and know that his friends were safe obviously meant enough to him to let a small smile cross his face. Without another word, he hurried over to settle Minako gently into the backseats. He would have gotten into the car with her if it hadn't occurred to him that he had forgotten something, or rather, someone important.

"Luna!" Yaten gasped her name as popped his head back out of the car.

"Yes?"

Yaten turned around and almost fell back when she abruptly appeared from behind him. He managed to steady himself with the support of the car's door, making her giggled softly at his startled reaction. For a brief moment, he just threw her an exasperation expression before sighing in defeat, "Why do you always enjoy scaring me like that…?"

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to frighten you…" She chuckled.

Seiya and Haruka widened their eyes at the couple smiling at each other. This was a rare sight. Yaten had never once looked at any other girls other than Minako, let alone smile at one. They strained their ears and tried to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Don't worry. I levitated her self-healing ability just now. She should be fine." Luna told him.

"I-I really don't know how to thank you enough… Thank you… Thank you for whatever it is that you did." Yaten muttered, his eyes softened with appreciation.

Luna shook her head with a smile, "It's alright. You surprise me as well…"

"Wait, wait… You didn't get hurt or anything back then, did you?" Yaten cut in abruptly, not catching her words, as he scanned through her body for injuries.

"No, no… I'm fine, I'm fine. You should get going now before the traffic turns bad…"

"What about you? You are not coming with us?"

She shook her head, "No, there's still something I need to settle…"

"But Luna, I-…"

"If you'll like to repay me, then will you go on a date with me?" She replied before he could even finish his sentence.

"A date?" He blinked at her in absolute surprise.

"Next Saturday, at the capital amusement park…" Luna finished off with a wide grin as she waved goodbye to Yaten who was stunned speechless.

Without even waiting for his reply, she darted past Seiya but turned around unexpectedly and stared at him with an odd expression. "... And, I should warn you. For your interest, it's best for you to return her as soon as possible…"

"What?" Seiya narrowed his eyes at her in the attempt to decipher her sentence.

But Luna just turned away from him and shook her head sadly, "I feel so sorry for you… But, there's no point in keeping a doll and letting her attend the academy when she couldn't even live pass graduation…"

--

* * *

--

If you ask me, I really like Yaten X Luna pairing as much as I do for Yaten X Minako. But there aren't many fics out there that has Luna X Yaten pairing in them. So here you have it, Luna X Yaten X Minako! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, and the address for the Love Legend site had changed. So do check it out in my profile page after you have reviewed ya? I won't be able to update anytime soon, but I'll make the effort to if you remind me with your reviews =).

I've done up a new illustration on _Yaten X Luna_ pairing for this chapter. Also, check my site for more information of my new story, Stage On!.

I appreciate suggestion and criticism! So, leave me a **review**, and I'll give you another chapter when they come!

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	22. Affection and Hesitation

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Last Chapter:

"_A date?" He blinked at her in absolute surprise._

"_Next Saturday, at the capital amusement park…" Luna finished off with a wide grin as she waved goodbye to Yaten who was stunned speechless._

_Without even waiting for his reply, she darted past Seiya but turned around unexpectedly and stared at him with an odd expression. "... And, I should warn you. For your interest, it's best for you to return her as soon as possible…"_

"_What?" Seiya narrowed his eyes at her in the attempt to decipher her sentence._

_But Luna just turned away from him and shook her head sadly, "I feel so sorry for you… But, there's no point in keeping a doll and letting her attend the academy when she couldn't even live pass graduation…"_

--

* * *

--

**Affection and**** Hesitation**

--

It was morning already and Minako hadn't even cracked an eye open. The doctor and two nurses came into the room to check on her, followed by Haruka who left shortly after seeing that his friend was still in a deep sleep. Besides waiting for Minako to wake up on her own accord, there wasn't much anyone could do at the moment.

Yaten squeezed her hand firmly, wondering if the doctor had given her too much aesthetic. It had been more than eight hours since she last got admitted into the hospital, and despite the repeated ruckus that had passed by the room, she hadn't shown any sign of awakening yet.

Slowly, he reached his hand forward to graze her arm, but hesitated as he stared at the bandages. He could hardly see any skin. Her body was coated with white strip of cloths, leaving only patches of skin visible to him. Remembering all the blood that had once been splattered across her body, he kept his fingers on her hand that had only a couple of minor cuts.

His fingers only loosened around hers when she shivered and opened her large blue eyes. He smiled brightly and called out to her, making her stared back at him for a minute in disbelief. She fought to keep her tears as she struggled to speak, her mouth letting her utter a soft, weak mumble of his name.

"Yaten-sama…"

As a sense of relief flowed past his body, Yaten turned towards her and pressed his lips on her cheeks. But, Minako simply flinched at his kiss and backed away from him much to his dismay.

"Please stay away from me, Yaten-sama…"

Yaten's eyes softened sadly, watching her turned her body away from him in rejection. She even hid herself under the blanket, wishing he would go away, but found him embracing her gently from behind instead.

"Why? Why are you still avoiding me? What else must I do to gain your acceptance?" He muttered in a slightly hurt voice.

Minako widened her eyes at his questions, but she simply shook her head a second later, refusing to answer him. He tightened his arms around her fragile body when she tried to get away, making her shrieked softly out of refusal.

"Let go! Let go!"

"I'm never letting you go!" He practically yelled.

Minako froze instantly, taken aback by her master's unintended sharp voice. Yaten took the opportunity to draw her closer into his arms, just to make sure that she wouldn't disappear from his side this time round.

"You don't know how scared and useless I felt when they took you away from me…" He breathed, pressing her into his chest, "I don't want anything like that to happen again… I don't want you to ever leave my side… So, please... I beg you… Stop avoiding me, Minako… I really need you here with me…"

For a moment, Minako was quiet as she tried to let the things that he had just told her sunk in. Though her mind was telling her that she couldn't go on with him like that, her body wouldn't listen as she popped her head out of the blanket and eyed him carefully, scrutinizing his face for the meaning of his words.

He had obviously meant it with all his heart, yet she needed to find a flaw, something that she could use to reject him. But, his eyes held no hesitation, no lies that would allow her to back away from him.

Minako could only drop her face in defeat, "But I'm a Succubus…"

"I know that…" He reminded her.

"No! You don't! All my family members ended up killing their masters! If I stay with you… I might do the same-…"

"Your family don't matter, and I don't care. I don't care how you'll turn out to be or whether I'll get killed by you in the end… none of these are important… because I love you, Minako. No matter how much you change, in my eyes, you'll forever be the Minako I've come to love… the cheerful, lively, and selfless girl…"

"Yaten-sama…" Minako breathed, her eyes softened with tears.

Yaten smiled sadly at her, "But since when…? Since when did you stop smiling so brightly? Since when did you stop chasing after me like how you used to? Since when did I become such a pain in your life? I'm sorry, Minako… I'm sorry that I couldn't give you happiness… I'm sorry for all the pain that I've caused you…"

"No, no, no!" Minako exclaimed forcefully, shaking her head and grasping his face between her hands. "Why are you apologizing?! It's not your fault! It's me! I'm the one in the wrong! I was the one who told them that I loved you! It was my fault! I shouldn't have said that… I shouldn't have loved you… It was wrong! I already knew that… and yet… why? Whenever I tried to deny my feelings from you, whenever I tried to avoid you, it hurts… it hurts so much…"

Yaten winced, hating that painful expression across her face. He wrapped his arms around her again, holding her like he would never let her go. Now, his heart throbbed terribly at the sight of her crying, but at the same time he was feeling thankful that she didn't try to push him away this time round and allowed herself to cry in his arms. She even admitted that she loved him, something he'd never have expected that she would say to him. Now, all he hoped for was to erase that painful expression on her face as he stroked her hair gently in the attempt to calm her down.

"Will this do? Will asking you to be my girlfriend help lessen your pain?" Yaten murmured.

Minako's face shot up to Yaten's, completely caught off guard. What? He wanted her to be his girlfriend? That couldn't be right, could it? She took another look at him again, trying to figure out whether she had heard him correctly, while he just smiled gently back, relief to see that she was no longer looking sad but rather deeply shock.

"I'm serious, Minako. I don't know whether you will believe me but I've never seen you as my minion or a Succubus before. To me, you're only a girl whom I've come to love, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you… only you, Minako… If it hurts you to accept your feeling for me just because you're a Succubus, then I want to hold onto your hand and tell the world that you're my lover, that you're the most important person in my life, and I hope you'll do the same… Would you accept me and be my girlfriend, Minako?"

Yaten stared into her large blue eyes, praying for acceptance. For the many years they had been together, he had been hoping that she would change her mind about their status as master and minion, but she never did, and disappointment slowly ate him away, letting hope heal him each time before striking again. It was an endless process, and a refusal would hurt him beyond repair, but to his greatest relief, he saw her smiling faintly as she shed one last tear before reaching her hand out to him.

"Ca-can I? I am actually good enough?" Minako asked softly.

Yaten grinned, more relieved than he thought possible, as he brought her hand to his lips, "I already said that you're the only one for me…"

Minako blushed slightly but kept quiet, allowing him to lace his fingers through hers and brace them in place. He stared at their locked hands for a moment longer before smiling back at her, "I'll take that as a 'yes' then."

"You might regret this, Yaten-sama…" Minako commented, looking down.

Yaten shook his head and tipped her chin upward, forcing her to meet his eyes before replying, "The only thing I'd ever regret is not having the courage to confess to you earlier and…"

"And..?" She repeated, feeling uncertain now.

"And, I've never liked you addressing me as your master… Please don't call me that again…" He sighed.

"But, Yaten-sama…"

He cut her off, putting his index over her lips, and stressed, "It's Yaten… Try it…"

He smiled and removed his finger from her mouth, finding a faint pink coating on her cheeks. He was happy, overjoyed even, when he noticed that there wasn't sign of misery in her anymore, only beautiful blushes of red, as she struggled timidly to call out his name.

"Yat-Yaten…"

She finished and quickly pulled the blanket over herself and hid under it in embarrassment, making Yaten laughed for the first time that month. She probably didn't know how happy she had made him felt. For her to call his name so directly, for her to be his girlfriend, and for her to accept his feeling and return it, were things he would never even dare to dream about achieving. But all that came true now, and he prayed that they would stay true for the rest of his life.

He quieted down a moment later when he heard her murmuring something under the covers. He smiled and patted the round top which looked like the shape of her head, "Don't hide from me. You're so adorable…"

"No, I'm not…" Minako uttered a hardly audible reply against the sheet.

"Yes, you are. So come out already." He urged gently.

"No!" She insisted.

"Please…?" He pleaded and wrapped his arms around the ball of blanket which she was in.

Slowly, Minako popped her head out of the covers only to meet him accidentally in the eyes. Embarrassed, she wanted to retreat back into the blanket but Yaten stopped her before she could even start disappearing again. He held her gently by the wrist and shook his head at her with a smile, making her looked away nervously.

"Do I really look that unsightly till I couldn't even bring my only girlfriend to look at me?" Yaten asked in a fake hurt voice.

"No! You are beautiful, Yaten-sa…"

"Then prove it…" Yaten insisted, smirking playful.

"Prove it? How?" She frowned in suspension of his motive.

"Allow me to kiss you…"

Minako widened her eyes at him for a brief moment before shaking her head vehemently, denying his request.

Yaten shrugged, "Don't worry. I've sneaked in and kissed you many times while you were asleep since young, and look, I'm still alive and healthy…"

"You what?!"

"Besides, you can fully control your power now. So, unless you thought about killing me, I'm very sure it'd do me no harm to kiss you right, Minako-chan?" He finished off with a wide grin.

Minako frowned a little, disliking the idea that he had secretly kissed her despite knowing that it was dangerous to do so back then. But before she could even confront him, his arms had already slithered around her waist and he had pulled her once again into his arms. The next part she could have guessed, but when his lips crashed into hers, her eyes still widened and her gasp could still be heard. She didn't even realize that she wasn't breathing until he pulled away when he heard someone knocking on the door.

Yaten and Minako turned to stare at the entrance, both equally humiliated to find their two friends standing there. While Haruka gave them an apologetic look for his interruption, Taiki was looking anything but ashamed as he walked into the room with the usual cool smile spread across his face.

This made Yaten glowered at him, finally understand how Seiya felt whenever Taiki cut in between him and Usagi. Minako, on the other hand, was overjoyed to see her friends again as she greeted them back happily.

"I'm glad that you are looking better, Minako. And, congratulation on finally becoming a boyfriend, Yaten." Taiki smiled simply.

While Minako widened her eyes in shock, Yaten sighed, not a bit surprised by Taiki's ability to know about their relationship even though they hadn't announced it to anyone yet. It was believed that he knew almost everything that was between Heaven and Hell, so what was there left for the genius to not know?

"How's Seiya?" Yaten asked, finally deciding to stop glaring at him.

Taiki smiled, "He's not dead. Usagi is now with him."

"Oh? I'm surprised. It's not like you to allow them to be on their own. What is it do you want for coming here?" Yaten inquired bluntly.

"You made me sound like a horrible guy, Yaten. Minako is also part of the reason why I'm here…" Taiki answered simply.

"And?" Yaten went on.

"And, I heard you make a new friend during your prison break…"

"So what if I did?" Yaten asked uncaringly.

"I want to meet her, the Empress of Necromancy, Luna." Taiki declared directly.

"In short, he's telling you to go for the date and have an affair with the Empress." Haruka added.

"I'm not going!" Yaten exclaimed almost immediately.

Taiki patted him firmly on the shoulder and stressed with a smile, "It's important. You don't have a choice."

Yaten glared up at Taiki and just when he was about to open his mouth to retort him, he was silenced by Minako who supported her friends' idea.

"You should go on a date with Luna-sama. She helped you and even offered to save my life… we should thank her somehow…" She muttered softly.

Yaten turned over to Minako and sighed. "Yes, I know I should be thanking her, but not like that... I want my first date to be with you, Minako."

Minako blushed slightly at his remark but shook her head, "We can always do that some other time. It's a crime to reject the Empress."

Yaten threw her an unenthusiastic look, "How is that a crime? And besides, I don't know and care whether she is the Empress or not. Whoever she is got nothing to do with me."

"But she seems to like you a lot…" Haruka voiced thoughtlessly.

"And I heard that the two of you look really compatible together." Taiki commented intentionally.

Minako thought through their words and nodded her head quietly.

"Don't agree with them!" Yaten shrieked at her with an exasperated look.

Minako cocked her head to the side, not understanding why he was looking so angry all of the sudden. Had she done something to annoy him? But, she didn't think that there was anything wrong with agreeing with her friends. Though it made her felt uncomfortable inside, the Empress and Yaten did look compatible for each other, at least, more than she did with him. Unlike her, the Empress was a well-respected person, and no one would dare say a thing if she chose to be with Yaten. And no matter how she looked at it, the future Emperor and the present Empress of Necromancy just seemed so perfect together that it saddened her just by the thought of it.

"Fine! I'm going already! So stop trying to manipulate Minako with your words!" Yaten yelled at Taiki.

"I wasn't." Taiki smiled.

"You were!"

"Can we not start a dispute here? You've already angered the nurses when you argued with Seiya back there, Taiki. I seriously don't want to hear anymore lecture from them again." Haruka told him with a sigh.

Yaten calmed down a little before eyeing wearily at Taiki, "So what is it do you want to know from Luna?"

"A dream…" Taiki murmured mysteriously.

"What?"

"It's a dream that I had a few hours ago…" Haruka continued softly.

Both Yaten and Minako kept quiet at this, waiting for either of them of to continue. But Taiki just turned and headed for the door, a sign showing that he didn't like hearing what Haruka was about to announce next.

"A dream of Usagi's death…"

--

* * *

--

Seiya sat quietly in his bed, his eyes not leaving the blonde who was trying her hardest to peel an orange for him. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Usagi scowled at the fruit, wanting so badly to smash it on the floor, and would have done so if the orange in her hand wasn't meant for Seiya.

"Stop fighting with the orange, Odango. I can peel it myself." Seiya chuckled and extended his hand out to her.

Usagi shook her head and held the fruit closer to her chest stubbornly, "No! The doctor said that you should be resting! I can handle the orange for you!"

"How hard can peeling an orange be? Don't be ridiculous, Odango." He sighed

"This is not an ordinary orange, it's a tough orange!" She insisted, glaring at the fruit in determination to slice it apart.

Seiya chuckled as he watched how Usagi searched through the drawer that was next to his bed for something that could help her peel the fruit. He stopped laughing and immediately shot up when he saw her taking out a pocket knife from one of the compartment.

"Now you are a dead orange-san." Usagi smirked evilly, pointing the knife at the fruit in an awkward position to skin it.

"Wait!" Seiya exclaimed and tore the dangerous tool from her hands.

Usagi threw him a shocked look before her whole face was contorted with frustration as she flapped her hands up and down at him. "Why are you trying to protect that orange? It's evil!"

He looked up at her face incredulously before sighing, "I'm trying to protect your fingers. You should know better on how talented you are at hurting yourself with sharp objects. I don't want to see you ending up with nine fingers instead of ten…"

"I wouldn't!"

"You would." Seiya insisted firmly and put the knife back into the drawer.

He quickly grabbed Usagi by her hand when she tried reaching for the compartment, stopping her from trying to take it back out again. She gave him one of her best scowl but he just chuckled at her expression and shook his head.

"It's alright, Odango. I have no appetite for any fruits now. So, please don't go near that knife or any knives alright? I don't want to see you get hurt."

"You are being so unfair, Seiya…" Usagi lowered her head and mumbled.

"Unfair?" He asked.

She nodded and softened her eyes at him, "I don't want to see you in pain. I don't want to see you get hurt either… But why? Why wouldn't you listen to me? Why must you keep doing all these stupid things to get yourself hurt? It's so unfair, Seiya. I hate it when you do things like that… I hate it when you try to protect me... just like five years ago…"

"Odango, that wasn't-…"

"It was my fault!" Usagi shrieked at him. "I was the one who hurt your father! I was the one who killed your relatives and officers when they tried to accuse you for injuring your parent! Yet, in the end, you took the blame for me even though you knew you would be executed! You almost died… you almost died because of me! So how can you say it wasn't my fault?!"

"Because I was the one… who was afraid of losing you, Usagi…" Seiya replied, his eyes softening at her enlarged ones.

Usagi was speechless as she stared quietly at him for another second before he pulled her closer till she could feel her legs leaving the chair. She gasped as she fell, shoving him onto his back on the bed. He locked his arms around her and trapped her down in a lying position, making her breathed his name out in surprise.

"Seiya?"

"Haven't you done enough for me already? You were the first person who wasn't afraid of me and was willing to stay close to me. Up until now, you have been protecting me from a world that didn't want me… So, you shouldn't feel bad or blame yourself… since there is absolutely nothing wrong even if I end my life for you…"

"No, Seiya… You can't do that… It's wrong…" Usagi murmured.

Seiya looked down at her with a baffled expression. He released her, allowing her to push herself up so she was seated next to him. Mimicking her action, he sat up, his eyes not leaving hers, as he watched her reached forward and placed her hand on his cheek with complete admiration.

"Do you know that Usagi existed because of you? And if you are gone, she'll disappear as well?" She whispered with a faint smile.

He threw her a perplexed expression but quiet, allowing her to continue.

"I was the one who depended on you, Seiya. You are the reason why I became Usagi… so no matter what happen next, or how much I might have changed, please remember that as long as you're there, I'm always the Usagi you know, always…"

Seiya was quiet for a second, taken aback from the things she had just whispered to him. There was so many things he wanted to ask her, so many things he wanted to know, but the beginning of his sentence was cut off by her lips touching against his. She was being cruel to him, not giving him any chance to get too involved with her problems.

He might not know as much as Taiki did, but he wasn't ignorant. He knew very well that they were about to face a huge obstacle ahead, one that might cause him to get separated from her. Then again, he couldn't allow that. He wasn't ready to see her go or to even be told that she would die in the end. Those were the sort of things that terrified him the most.

Still, despite all these uncertainties and fears, Seiya faced no problem in returning the passionate kiss. But just when he was about to wrap his arms around her, the door swung open with a thud as the doctor and two nurses stepped into the room, startled by the loving scene before them. The interruption made them break the kiss immediately as Usagi jumped out of the bed with a dim red face.

She apologized and ran out of the room in her haste, leaving Seiya to face the doctor and nurses who were now giggling at him. Shutting the door behind her, Usagi let out a deep breath, finally calming down. She blinked and turned to her left when she felt a familiar presence coming from the end of the corridor.

Out of curiosity, Usagi walked over and poked her head out only to find Taiki talking over his cell phone, the exact same model which Seiya had tossed away the previous night, with a solemn look on his face. Little to her knowledge, Taiki was on the line with Yuki, as he softened his volume when he noticed Usagi waving over to him.

Taiki smiled and looked at her with apologetic eyes after listening to whatever Yuki had to say.

"I guess I should be able to get to there by tomorrow morning… But are you sure about this? Can she be trusted?…" Yuki breathed heavily.

"Yes, I've been working with her for many years now… you can trust her..." Taiki muttered in a voice that was barely audible to Usagi who was now walking towards him.

"I've got to get going… just stay with her till I get there… I'll be there soon, Yuki."

Taiki finished and gave Usagi a quick smile.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to be disturbing you… you can continue with your conversation, it must be important…" Usagi stated quickly, seeing that he had ended the call because of her.

Taiki smiled, "Yes, it is… but for now… nothing is more important than spending my last few hours with you…"

Usagi blinked at him, slightly confused. "Eh? Are you going somewhere, Taiki?"

He nodded, "There's something very important that I've got to settle…"

"What is it? Is it dangerous?" She asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Usagi. I will be fine. Besides, I've got Yuki to help me…"

"Eh? You found Yuki? Is he and Tohru alright?"

"Yes, they are. So, you don't have to worry about them either…"

Usagi smiled lightly at his reply. She didn't know how, but he always managed to go two or three steps ahead of her or anyone else, resolving matters that he knew would concern her and, at times, helping her without her knowing. Then again, no matter how intelligent he was, he had failed to notice that she was constantly worried about him when he did things like that.

"So, when will you be leaving?"

"I'll be flying tonight…"

"Eh? Tonight?" She asked in a startled voice.

He nodded in response, "The sooner the better…"

"Will you be back in time for your birthday?" Usagi asked hopefully.

"My birthday?"

Taiki stood there, signs of surprise plastered all over his face. It only occurred to him that his birthday was around the corner now. It was hardly a week away. Ever since he got to know Usagi, his birthdays had always been memorable because of her. Each year, she would try to throw him a surprise and, though they all turned out to be unsuccessful, she still managed to make it special for him.

But sadly, he couldn't promise her that he'd be back in time for a celebration this year. He didn't even have the confident that she would still be here when he returned. For all he knew, this might be the last time he would be seeing her, and his heart throbbed terribly each times he thought about it as he leaned forward to wrap his arms around her, drawing her into his arms much to her surprise.

"Please promise me that you will be there for my next birthday… I don't want this to be my last time seeing you, Usagi…" He murmured.

"What are you saying, Taiki? Of course we'll celebrate your next birthday together… And because I won't be able to spend your coming one with you, I'll make sure that you will get a bigger celebration next year! And the year after next too!" Usagi exclaimed cheerily.

Taiki smiled and released Usagi only to find her gasping loudly as she dug into her pocket and took out a fist sized box to present it to him.

"This may seem a little early, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Taiki!"

Startled, he just stared blankly at her for a second before laughing when he realized that she was giving him his birthday gift even though that only made Usagi panic, seeing that he had yet to accept the present from her.

"You already knew what it is, and you don't like it?" She jumped into conclusion.

Taiki chuckled again and shook his head at her, "How many times must I remind you that I don't have X-ray vision, Usagi. I won't know what it is unless I open it. But, whatever it might be, I'll love it because it's from you…"

Usagi smiled brightly when he finally took the wooden box from her, stating, "Thank you. I'm very happy. I wonder what it is… Can I open it?"

"No! Don't open it! Please open it on the date of your birthday! That way, I won't see you laughing at me…" Usagi exclaimed.

"You're being ridiculous, Usagi. Why would I laugh at you?" He smiled.

"Because I handmade it when we were in the Muromachi Period… and since I didn't have enough time to finished it back then, it was badly done…"

Taiki grinned, somewhat ecstatic as to what she might have made for him. Maybe he shouldn't have lured her into hinting what the gift was. Now, it was really making him curious and he badly wanted to rip the box apart and see what it was inside. The worse part was that he was perfectly capable of doing that. The box was right in his hand, it would be almost easy, but then again, it might upset Usagi if he was to do that.

"Alright. I'll only open it on my birthday then…" Taiki agreed with a smile.

Usagi let out a sigh of relief and the next thing she knew, Taiki had already leaned forward and pressed his lips against her cheek.

"Thank you…" He whispered into her ear.

Usagi gasped and fell backward slightly, hitting someone's chest with her shoulders. She turned around and her head jerked up to face the boy who was now holding onto her.

"Seiya?!"

To her surprise, Seiya didn't start a fight with Taiki like how he usually would. Instead, he just smiled down at her before looking back up and narrowing his eyes at Taiki. "You should know my condition better than anyone does. My wounds aren't serious, and I won't die from them. It's unnecessary of you to keep asking those doctors to come and check on me whenever Usagi is around."

"Oh? I thought you would be grateful with the way I'm expressing my deepest concern for you, my friend." Taiki replied sarcastically.

Seiya smirked, "Yes, whatever your intention is, I should be thanking you for all the things that you are doing behind our backs..."

Taiki kept silent. His face gave none of his thoughts away. It didn't surprise him that the ever so sharp Seiya could tell that he was hiding an important secret from them, something that Satan might not even be aware of. And, to avoid the huge uproar that it would create, Taiki couldn't risk telling it to anyone, not even his closest friends.

Despite getting no reply from Taiki, Seiya didn't press him further. There was no point in doing so. He understood his friend well enough to know that he had his reason for keeping quiet even though that secret he was hiding concerned Usagi. As far as he knew, looking for Yuki wasn't his main motive for leaving the state. He was just using him as an excuse to cover up whatever or whoever he was actually seeking for.

But all those weren't what bothered Seiya the most. Instead, he was troubled by the strange, unpleasant feeling that this would be the last time where he could be together with the both of them. He stared quietly at his friends for a moment, watching Taiki smiled at something Usagi had just told him. Neither of them looked disturbed, but he could have guessed that they might be feeling the same as him in the inside.

--

* * *

--

A week without Taiki went by in a flash, and soon the day came where Yaten would be meeting Luna. He headed to the central amusement park as she had requested but he wasn't ready to step into the place without Minako.

"Luna-sama invited you, not me… I shouldn't be following…" Minako opposed softly.

But, Yaten wasn't going to listen to her protest as he kept her hand tightly in his so she wouldn't have the chance to pull away from him. "I'm not going anywhere without you, Minako And if you still insist on not coming with me, then I think we should just head home."

"No! You can't reject Luna-sama like that! It's just not right! And Taiki will definitely get angry if you didn't talk to Luna-sama on his behalf!" She cried in horror.

"Since you put it this way, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be joining me then."

"But it would be awkward if I come along…"

"So you think it isn't awkward for me to date another girl when I haven't even gotten the chance to go on a first date with my one and only girlfriend?" Yaten sighed, slightly exasperated. "It seems to me that you're not concern about whoever I am seeing at all…"

Minako's mouth dropped open, but she had no words to say. She hadn't meant to give him the impression that she didn't mind him seeing any other girl. If possible, she wanted to be the one whom he would only date. But, she didn't want him to offend the Empress because of her. She was unworthy for him on doing so; at least, that was what she was brought up into believing and it wasn't easy to change that idea overnight.

She continued to gaze at him helplessly, begging him to understand, but he just stared back at her, waiting for her to say something.

"Th-that's not what I meant…" Minako tried explaining.

"Then what do you mean?"

Yaten looked oddly back at her as he tried to figure out her train of thoughts. He couldn't understand why she would always push him away like that, apparently overlooking the way she was raised by his parents who would always remind her that she was nothing more than a minion to Yaten and his family. He was her master, and she would always remain many classes lower. So, how could he expect her to get used to playing a girlfriend's role when she was only taught to behave like how a minion should for so many years?

But Yaten, who had never once see Minako any less than the girl he loved, couldn't make himself to see from her perspective. The only reason he could come out with was that she didn't really love him and it made his heart throbbed each time he thought about it. Thinking back, she had never once directly told him that she did. That made it clear to him that she hadn't completely accepted him as a lover yet.

Minako opened her mouth, about to continue with her statement when her eyes locked themselves at the young girl standing behind Yaten. She gasped and immediately lowered her head down with respect. This made Yaten turned around to face Luna who greeted them with a smile.

"I'm so glad that the both of you actually came..."

Yaten nodded, not knowing what else he should say. Now that he knew about her legendary status, he couldn't bring himself to treat her like how he did a week ago. Minako remained quiet, partially relief that she hadn't angered the Empress. Luna was a whole lot kinder than the rumor had pictured her to be, and many times more beautiful than any other girls that had a crush on Yaten.

Whether it was in status, powers, or looks, one would easily say that the Empress had no equal, and Minako couldn't understand why Yaten would choose her, a dangerous Succubus, over someone whom most people worship as god.

"We have only one hour to play around, so hurry up and let's go!" Luna urged.

Both Yaten and Minako followed her into the theme park quietly, unaware that a couple was following closely behind them from a distance.

"Odango, can we not wear these thick black glasses and coats, everyone is staring at us as though we are some sort of stalkers or perverts…" Seiya sighed, noticing that every passer-bys were whispering and staring oddly at them right now.

"But Yaten and Minako will recognize us if we don't disguise ourselves." Usagi replied.

"We shouldn't even be following them in the first place…" He pointed out.

"But we can't possibly miss out Yaten's and Minako's first date!" She exclaimed.

Seiya shook his head, "You can't consider that as a date, Odango. The Empress is with them…"

His comment silenced Usagi for a second as she lowered her head as though she was recalling something important.

"The Empress…" Usagi murmured softly. "I think I've met her before…"

Seiya turned to look concernedly at her, anticipating her to say more, but their conversation ended with that statement. He kept his eyes on Usagi the whole time instead of the trio they were following. He noticed that she was looking a little more serious than usual as she watched her friends and Luna hopped in for a roller coaster ride.

Immediately, the unemotional look on her face vanished as Usagi smiled and pointed excitedly at the popular amusement ride.

"Seiya! Seiya! Let's sit that! It looks really fun!" She beamed and tugged on his sleeves with enthusiasm.

Seiya dropped his head and chuckled softly to himself, feeling relief that she had turned back to her normal self. Usagi stared oddly back at him, unable to figure out what she had done to make him smiled like that. Nonetheless, she beamed joyfully at him, finding herself in love with the lovely expression before her.

Without thinking, she reached out for the dark shades that were hiding his beautiful orbs and took it off much to his surprise. Strangely, Usagi could feel her heart skipped by a beat the moment their eyes met, making her tensed up and blushed crazily at the same time.

Confused, Seiya blinked, not getting why she had stiffened her posture all of the sudden. The big dark shades that she was wearing hid her red face pretty well, and he got no idea how closely she resembled a tomato right now. He tried to reach out out for her glasses only to have Usagi flinching and backing away out of anxiety.

Dissatisfied, Seiya let out a low groan as he took a step forward in an attempt to snatch that stupid shades of hers, but Usagi practically jumped away from him and ran into the opposite direction before his fingers could even land a touch.

"Wait! Odango! Where are you going?!" Seiya shouted as he picked up his speed to chase after her.

"No where!" Usagi shrieked back.

"Then why are you running?"

"Because you are chasing me!"

"That's because you are running from me!"

"I'm not!" She denied aloud.

"Then stop right there!" Seiya demanded.

"NO!"

From above the fast moving train, Luna watched as the couple ran, her expression softened with sympathy. Unlike her, Yaten and Minako weren't aware that their friends were secretly following them as they remained awkwardly quiet throughout the entire ride. If it wasn't for the people screaming around them, anyone would have thought that the roller coaster was just another boring invention from the sight of their unimpressive expressions.

Even after the ride, neither of them had looked or said a word to each other as they followed Luna to a nearby bench. They watched as she sat down happily before her eyes wandered and settled on the fruit juice stand that was set up a short distance away from where they were standing.

"Luna-sama, you must be thirsty. I'll go get you something to drink." Minako offered politely.

"No, I'll go-…" Yaten tried proposing but his sentence was immediately cut off by Minako.

"Yaten-sama, please stay with Luna-sama. I'll be back shortly." She finished with a bow and quickly ran off to join the queue before Yaten could stop her.

He watched her leave, not pleased by it. Her intention was good, but to Yaten, it seemed as though she was trying to avoid him again. He was saddened by that, but at the same time, he didn't want her to stay with him if she was feeling uncomfortable.

"You don't look very happy. Is something bothering you?" Luna asked thoughtfully.

Yaten turned around, finally remembering that he wasn't alone. Luna smiled and patted the space on the bench beside her. He sighed, but obeyed, seating himself on the edge of the bench before apologizing to her.

"I'm sorry. You've helped us a great deal, but I couldn't make this date anymore exciting for you."

Luna shook her head with a smile, "There's nothing to feel sorry for. I'm enjoying myself already. But I can tell that you aren't. Mind telling me what happened? Did the both of you quarrel?"

Yaten sighed, "It would be nice if we actually did. At least, that way, I'd get to know what her true feelings are. But this is just my wishful thinking. In the end, she might only see me as a master and nothing more…"

Luna smirked, "If she only sees you as a master, she wouldn't have suppress her power for so many years…"

Yaten blinked, staring back at Luna in surprise for a second before he dropped his head down, smiling lightly to himself. How could he be so blind as to overlook something like that? Clearly, a level 4 demon like her would have easily broken free from being a minion and left him if she really wanted to. No overpowered demons would choose to stay under a master's command and not gain freedom if given the chance to, but Minako, unlike the others, chose to weaken her strength instead.

The reason was evident.

She had long chosen to be with him over power and freedom.

"_To always believe the one you love_… this is what you told me a long time ago…" Luna murmured mysteriously.

Startled, Yaten looked up, accidentally meeting her eyes. She leaned forward, as if to kiss him which made him backed away by a little. Luna continued to get closer and closer, but instead of kissing him, she settled her forehead gently on his shoulder, muttering, "Just like you believe in her, I believe that you'll soon turn back into who you really are… and the four emperors shall finally come together…"

"What are you...? What are you saying…?" Yaten breathed, still trying to let her words sink in.

He didn't know, of course, that Minako was watching them from a distance. Her mouth hung open in shock for a second as she tried her very best to steady herself from dropping the two cups of juice that she was holding. A tight knot formed in her chest twisting around painfully. That feeling hurt, but there was nothing much she could do besides trying her hardest not to cry without an avail. Though tears blurred her vision, she could still see Luna placing her fingers over Yaten's lips as she tried stopping him from asking anymore questions.

"Something is better left unsaid for now. This way, you and your friends might not have to suffer too much from it…" She told him in a whisper.

As soon as she moved her fingers away, Yaten attempted to open his mouth to question her but closed it back when he realized that she wasn't paying attention to him anymore. Instead, she was looking gloomily at the sky that had suddenly turned grey, with strange dark clouds gathering above. By the looks of it, anyone could tell that a huge storm was coming.

"Here already?" Luna stood up with a sigh.

There was a quick pause before she turned around to face Yaten with a firm expression. "No matter what you hear or see, don't go over. There is no need for more people to get hurt."

--

* * *

--

Usagi froze, gaping at the tall man standing before her. Underneath that white hook, she could see his dark eyes that stared back at her with a wicked smile. No matter how much she had changed or how long it had been, she would never forget the man who started her life in Satan. But why was he here? Why was he here now after she had left him for ten over years?

"How have you been, my precious Akatsuki?" He asked gently.

Usagi forced a smile, "Why are you here… Father…?"

The leader of Satan, Saiga, smirked at his daughter's question but did not answer. Instead, he reached his hand out to her face but she backed away before he could even touch her.

Whether it was because of the approaching storm or the dangerous presence that was surrounding their radius, people were desperately fleeing from the sight. And, it didn't take Usagi very long to notice that her father wasn't the only person whom everyone was afraid of as two equally powerful men stepped out from behind him, each greeting her silently with a tiny smirk.

The short old man who she used to address as Master Ma, better known as the Emperor of Disaster, reached into his pocket and took out what seemed like a camera and began taking photo of Usagi though neither Saiga nor the other Emperor, Artemis, seemed affected by his mproper attitude as a pervert.

Besides the constant clicking sound coming from the camera, no one said another word. Usagi looked around, ignoring the attention on her, and spotted a crowd of uniformed men and women slowly coming in to the scene around her. They were the elite squads of Satan, professionally trained to take over any places that their leader was to step his foot into, and from the look of it, Satan had already dominated the entire amusement park with their men.

The presence of the world most dangerous man, along with two of history most influential figures, were enough to drive any arm forces or defence military from coming anywhere nearer to the place they were in, making it clear that there was no one in the country who had the confidence or ability to go against them. Now, all Usagi could hope for was for her friends to remain somewhere safe. She didn't want Seiya to find her now when she was presently standing with people who had such threatening reputations and powers.

"Father, you didn't come here to hurt anyone, did you?" Usagi asked, sounding surprisingly calm.

"I came just for you, my precious Akatsuki."

"For me?"

"It has been more than ten years since I last saw my dear daughter. So, I don't see why there should be any problem for me to be here unless there's someone you are afraid that I would hurt…" Saiga concluded simply.

"There's no one in particular…" Usagi lied with a straight face.

"So, you won't mind if that boy dies before you either?" He smirked, looking behind her.

The calm expression on Usagi's face vainished as soon as she heard that remark. She turned around anxiously, her eyes widening with horror when she saw Seiya standing a short distance away from her. It didn't take her very long either to notice the small cuts on his arms and few little rips on his shirt. Clearly, he had fought past the elite members of Satan to get to where she was, winning him a few praises from Master Ma as the Emperor snapped a few shots to keep as a final memory of him.

"Odango…"

Seiya couldn't help but cracked a smile when he spotted Usagi standing across him, safe and unhurt. The theme park was trapped in havoc with the Satan's squad controlling the people and, for a moment back there, it had frightened him terribly when he thought that she might be in danger or get taken away.

He let out a breath of relief upon realizing that there wasn't any sign of injuries on her, but to his surprise, Usagi was looking anything but grateful.

"Ru-Run… Run! Get out of here!" Usagi shouted at him, her face contorted with anxiety.

Seiya paused his step, not understanding her concern. What was she saying? How could she expect him to leave her behind in this dangerous place? But, even from where he was, he could tell from her eyes that she was silently begging him to leave, yet that thought of going anywhere without her didn't even register into his head no matter how hard she pleaded or cried.

Ignoring the danger ahead, Seiya raced forward and just when he was about to reach his hand out and grab onto her, a group of Satan's men fell from the sky, stopping him from getting anywhere closer to Usagi. They surrounded him in a circle but strangely, none of them attacked him this time round, each remained in a robotic posture as though they needed an order just to move a part of their bodies.

Seiya growled at them, wanting so badly to send all of them flying but found himself unable to release his power. Startled, he looked down and his eyes widened at the black circular seals that were imprinted on the back of his hands. Soon, his strength seemed to vanish as well as the forbidden sigils, which made up of various complex symbols, began to spread throughout his arms and into his body.

"No…"

A soft, uncontrollable whimper came out of Usagi's mouth. She paused, feeling a terrible pain stabbed through her heart and soul as she watched how her father consumed Seiya with his deadly power. She cried out his name in pain, not bothering to even conceal her tears when she noticed the line of symbols pierced into his flesh as puncture wounds began to coat his body, painting his skin red.

"No! No! No! Seiya!" Usagi shrieked.

She tried running over to him, but her father caught her by the arm, yanking her back to him so he was whispering into her ear, "You love him, don't you? So, for your interest, I shall turn him into a doll… a precious doll… just like you…"

"No! No! Don't hurt him! Don't hurt him!" She screamed, turning around to grab onto her father.

"Oh? But I thought you love him…" Saiga smiled.

"I don't love him! I don't love him! So, stop it! Please…" Usagi cried.

Seiya's breath caught in his throat. The throbbing feeling that burnt inside him after hearing her proclamation hurt a hundred times more than his external injuries. All these while, he was trying his hardest not to fall or even let out a single groan of pain, but it was getting harder to do so with the continuous loss of blood.

Soon, one of his knees gave in to the ground, as Seiya watched how Saiga lowered his eyes at him with a smirk before freeing him from the deadly spell. Even with the sigils gone, it didn't seem to lessen the blood that was beginning to collect in the puddle where he was kneeling.

"Usagi…" He breathed heavily, his hand reached out to her.

"Seiya!"

She raced forward and extended her hand out for his, but as soon as their fingers brushed against each others, the dark sigils reactivated themselves, surfacing throughout his entire body and tearing into his flesh. The severe damage caused him to drop onto the ground, not strong enough to keep upright anymore.

"Seiya!" Usagi cried out, wanting so badly to throw herself to his side but a warning coming from the back stopped her.

"It would only get worse if you touch him…" Saiga advised.

Usagi quickly paused, feeling a tremor shook her body when she realized what her father meant. She took her hands back and kept them firmly against her chest as she moved away from him. The rows of black symbols disappeared from his body as soon as she did that which only made her backed even further.

Seiya looked up at her, silently begging her to come back, but she just shook her head at him as she took another step back. She didn't dare to touch or go near him, and even wished that she could disappear so she wouldn't risk hurting him.

"Yes, you should disappear…" Her father whispered into her ear from behind.

Usagi widened her eyes another time at the statement as her father placed his hand over her shoulder with a calm smile, "Come back to daddy, my precious Akatsuki. Haven't you realized that you don't belong here? Just look. He's dying because of you…"

"…because of me?" She repeated slowly in guilt.

"No, Usagi! It's not like that! Don't listen to him! Don't go anywhere!"

Instantly, Usagi's face shot up to face the source of the call, her eyes widening in surprise to see Seiya struggling to get back on his feet. She gasped and took a step forward when he fell back on one knee, but hesitated to get closer to help him up. She knew how horrible his condition was. Most of his powers were permanently gone by now, consumed by her father and his injuries were severe enough to kill him in that instant.

But Seiya was stubborn. He didn't care who the enemies were or how unbeatable they were proven to be. He wasn't willing to give in to them and lose Usagi just like that. With the last bit of his strength, he extended his hand forward, sending the row of men, who were blocking his path to Usagi, back with a powerful blow.

He hosted another attack on Saiga but the supposedly strong strike dispersed into a breeze and blew past him, making Seiya growled at his unbelievable ability to nullify any magical activity cast within his radius. The leader of Satan smiled as he imitated Seiya and stretched his hand out at him.

"Thank you for looking after my daughter for all these years… but, you don't have to now…"

With that statement, the rest of the seconds just passed by as a blur, and Seiya could only remember seeing Usagi turning to face him in horror before everything went black. He fell back down on the ground, and for a moment there, he just stayed there, not understanding anything that had just happened. He could hear Usagi screaming painfully for him but when he tried looking up, he couldn't see anything.

Nothing at all.

He couldn't see the painful expression on Usagi's face. He couldn't see how she had unconsciously knocked out all the other Satan's members with her power after witnessing the horrible sight before her.

Usagi knew that she was losing herself, but still, she couldn't make herself look away from him. She watched as red liquid seeped out of his close eyelids as he tried to edge his way to her. But besides exploiting her power on the innocent people around her, she couldn't do anything to help him or even stop herself from going insane. That shock and despair to see him went blind before her very eyes were too much for Usagi to handle. She was hardly even consciously, barely even aware of where or who she was anymore. She felt her world spinning and darkening as her father caught her in his arms when she fell.

"Usagi… Usagi!"

In and out of her conscious, Usagi could still hear Seiya's cries as he tried to search blindly for her from the ground but his hands wrapped around the air and nothing else. Tightening his fist, he struggled to keep himself from losing conscious. He wasn't ready to admit defeat, not even after all the pain and injuries he had suffered.

"Wait… Don't go! Don't take Usagi away! You bastard! Give her back! Give Usagi back to me!" Seiya snapped.

Lighting struck, brightening up the bleak sky. Once again, Seiya reached his hand out but there was nothing and no one there for him to grab onto. Soon, pellets of droplets began to fall from the sky, and besides the sound of the harsh rain hitting onto the dirty ground, his loud call was the only thing that could be heard echoing down the empty street.

"USAGI!"

--

* * *

--

Actually, I was planning to have this chapter up by the end of Nov. but decided to have it posted up sooner because of the many requests I've got. I'm really very happy to know that my stories could actually make someone's smile, (though I don't think anyone would be smiling for this chap, probably you'd be screaming at me, oops.) or want to read them offline. Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone for reading and liking my stories, but sadly, the next chapter for the NPA won't be up anytime soon, unless I get high demands/reviews for this chap. It would remind me to update faster.

Again, thank you for reading.


	23. Distance So Far

--

Last Chapter:

"_Usagi… Usagi!"_

_In and out of her conscious, Usagi could still hear Seiya's cries as he tried to search blindly for her from the ground but his hands wrapped around the air and nothing else. Tightening his fist, he struggled to keep himself from losing conscious. He wasn't ready to admit defeat, not even after all the pain and injuries he had suffered._

"_Wait… Don't go! Don't take Usagi away! You bastard! Give her back! Give Usagi back to me!" Seiya snapped._

_Lighting struck, brightening up the bleak sky. Once again, Seiya reached his hand out but there was nothing and no one there for him to grab onto. Soon, pellets of droplets began to fall from the sky, and besides the sound of the harsh rain hitting onto the dirty ground, his loud call was the only thing that could be heard echoing down the empty street._

"_USAGI!"_

--

* * *

--

**Distance So Far**

--

It had been more than a week since Taiki had received the last phone call from Haruka, informing him about the horrible news that involved Usagi and Seiya. It was only then did he begin to realize how terrible it felt to lose two of the most important people in his life, and the worse of it all, he couldn't do anything to prevent such tragedy despite predicting it in advance. All he could do was to prolong it, and that was what he had been working so hard on for the past ten years. But despite all his effort, he couldn't prevent losing Usagi to Satan in the end.

Taiki reached into his pocket and took out the little package that Usagi gave him a week ago. Today was his birthday, but unlike the past years, she wasn't there to spend this special day with him. She did, however, prepared him a gift as he looked at the wooden box in his hand for a final time before carefully removing the lid and stared at the red Omamori that was inside. Delicately, he held up the protective amulet that she had made for him, and stared at the prayers that was written on the cover of the cloth.

It said: "Blessing good health and luck to the holder, Taiki Kou."

Taiki smiled for the first time that week as he ran his finger down the Japanese letterings before deciding that he should hang it on his cellphone strap. It was a perfectly thoughtful gift, one that would make him feel blessed just by looking at it. Now, all he wanted to do was to stare at the Omamori, his eyes not leaving it until he sensed someone watching him from behind.

He turned around to face the blue-headed girl who was smiling gently at him, watching her as she shifted her attention over to the Omamori that he was holding onto. "Did she make that for you?"

Taiki nodded slowly, but kept quiet, turning back to stare at the amulet again.

"You really like her a lot…" Ami commented.

"I love her." Taiki corrected.

Ami stared at him, taken aback by his reply. The last thing she had expected was for Taiki to tell her something so personal. Sure, she had known him for many years now even though they appeared to be strangers on the surface. Their relationship had always revolved around getting restricted information from Satan and nothing more, making it the first time that he had displayed a softer image of himself to her.

"But she's a-…"

"I know…" Taiki cut in. "The officials of the World Government had sent me a copy of the recent data that you had stolen from Satan. But that alone won't be enough to buy me over to the government's side. What I want to know is how I can save Usagi, and not who she really is…"

"I'm sure you already knew how to, since that should be the only reason why you're willing to leave your home state and her behind to come to our government territory despite knowing that she might have to return to Satan if they come for her then. But you don't have a choice, do you?" Ami concluded before adding, "Her life as a doll is drawing to an end, and if you hadn't done what you did, you might just lose her for real…"

Taiki smirked, "It seems like you understand me pretty well, Ami-san. I really can't underestimate you, can I?"

"I should be the one telling you that, Taiki-san. You are the first person to learn about my other identity. Even the authority of Satan and father didn't realize that I'm working for the government until recently…" Ami smiled.

"Oh? So, they have finally discovered that their top spy is actually one of the government's _Archangel_? It sure took them quite some to realize something so critical. But I can't blame them. After all, you won't be called the mastermind of the Archangel team if you aren't that impressive. " He commented.

"You flattered me, Taiki-san. I'm actually nothing compared to someone like you who managed to crack the Lost Index of Great wisdom. Imagine what the world leaders' reaction will be like if they learn that you're its true holder." She giggled softly.

--

"_The Lost Index of Great W__isdom was a legendary book that was believed to be created by god to protect the wisdom of the strongest. It was also said to have held 59,000 secret texts and hidden knowledge of the world, and only if one was proven supreme enough to find and break its code could he becomes its true holder. _

_Besides, the Lost Index of Great Wisdom, there were two other magical publication, the Sacred Index of Great Sorcery and the Last Index of Great Necromancy, each held by two of the four Emperors, Artemis and Luna, respectively." – Story information._

--

"I have yet to decode every hidden message behind the Lost Index, and those which I did weren't really helpful in providing me with clues to save Usagi." Taiki shook his head with a sigh.

"No matter how impossible it is, I'm sure you'll eventually find a way to…" She encouraged.

Taiki smiled slightly at her comment, but kept quiet. He didn't understand why he would always lose his confident in whatever matters that involved Usagi, yet everyone around him thought he could perform miracle. But in reality, he wasn't that amazing. The amazing person here was Seiya Kou. Just like ten years ago when he stood up and took the murder charges for Usagi, which almost caused him to get executed, this time, he chose to sacrifice his sight and power just for the attempt to protect her.

Though Taiki didn't want to admit it, he was once again defeated. He didn't know whether he would have done the same thing as Seiya did, but as much as he didn't like losing to him, he wouldn't allow such sacrifice to happen again.

"I'll be heading back by tomorrow morning…" Taiki informed.

"But you're not done gathering the necessary sources that could help you decode the other hidden message of the Lost Index…"

"Yuki has volunteered to stay and search them out on my behalf. I can't possibly continue to remain here when my friend is suffering back at home."

"I understand. I heard from Michiru that Seiya Kou is in a terrible condition. Not only has he lost his sight, but his power got consumed by Saiga, and there isn't a single doctor who could treat him. Even the medical psychics from the White Magic Organization couldn't do anything for him. He must be going through a tough time now…" Ami commented sadly.

"He is. But it got nothing to do with losing his sight or power… That sort of thing doesn't matter to him. It's the lost of Usagi that he's troubled about." Taiki muttered.

Ami softened her eyes by a little as she watched Taiki looking away in distress. She knew very well that he was as worried over Usagi as Seiya was, or maybe even more. Mortified by the wave of agony drifting off her, Ami touched his shoulder to get his attention.

"And is there anything I can do to help…?"

Taiki looked back at her, slightly taken aback by her offer before smiling gently, "Why? I haven't even thank you enough for sending some of your government agents down and asking the White Organization's medical team to watch over Seiya. I can't possibly ask you for any more help, can I?"

Ami shook her head with a smile, "Back then, you did cooperate with me to put up a show to fool Satan. I'm just returning you a favor now. And, you don't have to worry. I won't say a thing to anyone on whatever we have discussed tonight."

"You're sure kind, aren't you?" Taiki smiled warmly, making Ami blushed slightly at his sudden comment.

She looked away embarrassedly in the attempt to hide her faint blush against the dark shade of the room. But despite her effort to keep it hidden, Taiki, as sharp as he was, had already noticed the redness on her cheeks as he continued to stare at her, waiting for her to turn back to him on her own accord.

He smiled when she finally did and placed his hand lightly on her head much to her surprise. "Now that Satan has found out that you're one of the government's Archangel, they won't let you off that easily. So, whatever you do, please be careful and keep yourself alive for me… I need you…"

Ami tensed up for a bit, her whole face burning a dark shade of crimson. For a second there, it sounded as though he had confessed to her. But after giving a quick thought through his sentence, she knew it was otherwise. He didn't lie to her. He did need her, but it was more of how a friend or comrade would need each other. Ultimately, it was just her strong feeling for him that made his words seemed misleading since he had always see her like his best friend.

Smiling to herself, Ami looked back up at him, "We, the Archangels, are like the Great Powers of Satan, only that we are on the government's side. So, you should have a little bit more faith in me. Unless I chose to, I won't die that easily."

Taiki nodded with a smile, satisfied by her reply, but when he was about to step away from her, Ami reached out and grabbed him by the wrist. She gaped shyly at his surprised expression for a second more before muttering, "The same goes to you. You mustn't sacrifice yourself and die for anything or anyone… I need you too…"

His eyes widened at hers by a little, taken aback by her words. Somehow it did remind him of the scene when an upset Usagi was yelling at him for the same reason a few weeks back.

"_Stupid Taiki! You almost scare me to death! Sacrificing yourself and wanting us to go back without you! You think I'd agree to that?! You think I'd be happy?! I won't! So, don't ever do such stupid things again, you hear me? I'm not going to be nice and forgive you the next time you do something this stupid!"_

He shook his head and smiled slightly at the thought of her angry expression which made Ami tilted her head to the side, a bit confused at this point.

"Don't worry. I won't, because she'll never forgive me if I did…" Taiki muttered lowly.

"It's always Usagi-san, isn't it?" Ami asked slowly, trying her best not to let her misery show.

Taiki softened his eyes and looked apologetically at her when he realized what his remark must have meant to her, "I'm sorry…"

Ami smiled faintly as she shook her head, "Don't be. I know how important she is to you, and there's no one in this world, no matter how hard they try, can replace her in your heart. That's how much you love her, isn't it? I already knew that much…"

Taiki chose to keep quiet. Unless he was able to return the feeling that she had for him, he didn't think anything he said now would make her feel any better. Besides, he didn't want to start acting like a hypocrite and lying to someone as kind and genuine as Ami was. Instead, he placed his hands onto her shoulders and gently pulled her into an embrace. Ami felt her cheeks heat up as she froze in his arms. For a moment, neither of them said anything, an awkward silence resting between them, until Taiki broke the stillness in a soft murmur.

"Thank you…"

Ami's eyes lit up in surprise before they softened ever so gently as she shook her head with a smile. It was strange how a simple gratitude from him could make her feel better. Even though she knew that she couldn't win his love over from Usagi, somehow, to be held and appreciated by him this way, did made her felt special.

"You can thank me again after I've given you your birthday gift…" She muttered, looking shyly up at him.

Taiki blinked in surprise before releasing her as she dug into her pouch and took out a hand-sized device, one that looked like a mini-laptop. She handed the tiny device out to him and for a moment, he just stared at it before his lips curved up into a tiny smirk as though he could already read what it contained.

"You sure you want to give something this crucial to me?"

Ami nodded, "Take it. You'll need it if you want to save Usagi-san from dying."

Taiki chuckled in disbelief before he shook his head at her, "Yes, I'll definitely need that, but what about you then? Your many years of effort to get into Satan's main base to steal their map analysis and database are all in there, isn't it? And you're planning to give it to me just like this? You should know very well that both the Satan and the World Government will come after you if they learn about it. The consequence is very serious. You might even get terminated from the Archangel team and get hunted down as a wanted criminal."

Ami smiled calmly, "I'm happy that you worry so much for me, but since I've already decided to give it to you, I'm prepared for whatever that will come next. Besides, now that I've given you the world most wanted information. You should be the one they'll be wanting more…"

"Looks like I may need a lot more help from you then…" Taiki smiled as he reached out his hand out for the device, but instead of taking it, he gently wrapped his fingers around her hand much to her surprise.

"Ami-san, will you agree to come with me and be part of the Aces?"

--

* * *

--

Haruka remained quiet, watching how Yaten widened his eyes at what Michiru had just informed them. Unlike Yaten, Haruka didn't look a bit surprise to be told that Ami, one of Satan's top spy and the government's Archangel, had agreed to join the Aces with her, Mirchiru, acting as her temporary assistant of the team.

Lately, he was able to predict many future events in his dream, and the one he was facing now was no exception. Indeed, he had grown quite a lot from where he had started out, and even though he couldn't choose what he desired to see in the future, he could do something that other high leveled prophet couldn't, and that was the ability to put others into sleep, making them engaged in a dream of their past. It had proven to be pretty useful especially at difficult times like these.

"So yes, this is what I'm asked to inform everyone…" Michiru finished off.

Yaten sighed before looking seriously at Michiru, "Listen, I'm only agreeing to this because it was Taiki's idea. But that doesn't mean I trust either you or that Ami person…"

"It's alright if you don't trust me, but please don't misunderstand Ami. She isn't like how you think she is…"

Yaten shrugged, "I don't see how someone who could side both Satan and the World Government at the same time while ultimately betraying them altogether can be any trustworthy."

"Like I've said, you have misunderstood Ami, Yaten-san. Ami was forced to work for Satan because of her father, Dr Mizuno, the man who said to possess the power to create God's Medicine. He had a death chip planted into Ami's brain since she was very young, and she'd die from it if she didn't follow through with his command. The government learning about this offered to have it removed for her only if she was willing to secretly work for them as one of their Archangels. So, you see, it really isn't her fault… she didn't have a choice back then…" Michiru finished softly.

"And how can I trust that you're not making all these up?" Yaten asked suspiciously.

Michiru smiled faintly, "You can ask Taiki-san if you don't believe me, he was the one who helped Ami with the removal of the death chip."

"He did?!" Haruka exclaimed in surprise.

"Why are you looking so shock for? I thought you already knew what was coming from this conversation?" Yaten asked, looking unenthusiastically at him.

"I didn't have the chance to finish listening to the entire conversation. You woke me up when she was about to get into the second part remember?" Haruka replied in a rather displeased tone.

"I did?" Yaten asked with a shrug. "I guess that couldn't be help since you are the only one here with the ability to calm Seiya down and put him into sleep."

"How's Seiya Kou?" Michiru interrupted shortly after Yaten had finished his sentence.

Both Yaten and Haruka turned to look at her but neither of them said anything, each waiting for the other to reply her. They found it hard to tell anyone about his sad condition, but lucky for them, they didn't have to. Minako shouted for them in that instant as the two boys immediately rushed up the stairs and over to her with Michiru following closely behind. Stepping into the room, they flinched at the scene of Seiya toppling off the bed and almost hitting the ground if it wasn't for Minako's quick reflection to catch him on time by the arm.

"Let go… I need to find Usagi… I need to find her…" Seiya breathed as he tried to shake Minako off.

Without a second to waste, both Yaten and Haruka hurried over to aid Seiya from falling over, while Michiru simply stared in disbelief at the scary amount of bandages that were wrapped all over his fragile body. She could hardly see any skin, and there was even a white strip of cloth tied across his eyes. The leader of Satan, Saigai, had cruelly disabled Seiya to the extent that he was nothing more than a handicapped person, and yet he wasn't showing a slightest bit of concern over his terrible condition. The only thing that was running through his head now was Usagi.

He needed to find her.

He needed to save her.

But no one seemed to be on his side.

"How are you going to look for Usagi when you can barely even stand? You'll only injure yourself further if you continue doing this…" Yaten stressed, holding him back.

"Let go of me… I can stand on my own…" Seiya muttered stubbornly.

But his friends kept him restrained, not budging an inch despite his attempt to break free. They knew perfectly well how upset and worried he was right now, but they couldn't allow him to go anywhere in his miserably weak condition. He would get hurt to an unknown degree, and he would definitely die this time if that was to happen. To lose an important friend like him was what exactly Haruka and Yaten feared.

Haruka sighed and reluctantly placed his hand over Seiya's forehead. He didn't want to use his newly developed power on him, but besides this, what else could he do to help him now?

"I'm sorry… But at least, you can see her in there…" Haruka murmured before he activated his power on Seiya, causing his mind to blank out and soon losing consciousness.

The two boys caught the unconscious Seiya steadily in their arms as Minako quickly prepared the bed for them to settle him in. After they were done laying Seiya down, Haruka sighed quietly to himself and turned around, only to find Michiru staring at him in surprise.

"What did you do?" She asked.

"I've put him to dream about his past and experience it once more. Even though there maybe some sad memories, the many happy ones he has were spent together with Usagi." Haruka replied in a murmur as he looked over at Seiya. "At least, they can get to be together again in his dream... while it last… He should be happy now…"

"You can actually make others get engaged in a dream of their past?" Michiru uttered in disbelief.

Haruka nodded with a smile, "Do you want to try?"

"T-try? M-Me?"

"Taiki had told me about you, Michiru-san. You were forced to join Satan at a very young age and to ensure that you'd stay loyal to them, Satan had not only erased all the memories of your past but they had also targeted those whom were once close to you and make them forget about your existence." Haruka started to say as he looked straight into Michiru's big, startled eyes before adding, "The reason you sided Ami-san is because she promised to help you get back those memories that Satan had stolen, am I right, Michiru-san?"

Michiru looked honestly shock to hear that, but her wide eyes quickly shifted from shock to relief, "So, this is the other reason why she made me come over… But I don't understand… Why are you willing to help me?"

Haruka smiled faintly, "I owe this ability that I've now to Taiki. If he hadn't taught me the secret techniques to train it up, I wouldn't have advanced and discovered my hidden ability. So, I'm willing to do anything to repay him. But, even if he hadn't asked me to help you regain your memories, I'd have done the same myself…"

"You…" Michiru breathed in surprise, unable to complete her sentence.

"It's such a pity that I can't use my power on myself..." Haruka continued with a simple grin, "…because I'm sure that whatever memories that were taken away from me, you're inside most of them…"

Too overwhelmed by shock, all Michiru could do now was to gape speechlessly at Haruka as he extended his hand out for her. She didn't know what to say at this point. She had always wanted to remember her past, family and friends, and for so many years, she had been working so hard to find some way or someone who could help her regain what she had lost, but she never did until now. It didn't take much time for a surge of happiness to flood her body as she reached her hand out for his. She smiled a little, closing her eyes while he gently pulled her into his arms before everything around her gradually went blank.

--

In her dream, she could see many faces, people whom she didn't remember meeting before. They were her family, her friends, and a particular someone who stuck out to her in particular…

Michiru watched as the boy, probably at the age of 8, rushed forward, keeping himself in front of her and the bullies.

"Enough! Stop picking on Michiru! Can't you see that you're hurting her?" He yelled at them.

The group of bullies scowled at him before one of them retorted, "Why are you helping that witch, Haruka? She'll kill you one day!"

"Michiru is not a witch! And she won't kill me or anyone!" Little Haruka shouted back.

"My mother told me that she is evil! And we'll be killed if we continue to be her friends! You shouldn't get too close to her too!" The girl in the middle shrieked while the rest of the boys continued to throw tiny rocks at Michiru.

Michiru stood perfectly still as she observed how Haruka tried to shield her from getting hit by those sharp stones. She shook her head and immediately reached her hand out to grab onto him before activating her power to escape from the bullies.

Then, it all passed by like a blur for Haruka, and the next thing he knew, Michiru had already teleported him 80 meters away from their original location. He turned around and looked at her with bewildered eyes. But Michiru simply ignored that look as she continued to stare at the few little cuts on his arms, her face contorted with guilt.

"Are you okay?" Those were the first word that slipped out from her mouth.

"I'm fine. Just a few small cuts here and there… I get them pretty often…" Haruka smiled and hid his hands behind him to discourage her from looking at his injuries.

Michiru turned her head down sadly and breathed, "Why?"

"Why?" Haruka repeated, blinking at her out of confusion.

"Why are you still helping me? I'm different from you and everyone here. Don't you find me weird?" She asked softly.

"You are not weird, Michiru! I find it's really cool to be able to disappear and reappear in another place! You are just like a magician!"

"Magician?" She blinked at him.

Haruka nodded, "Magician does that too. And, you don't find them weird, do you?"

Little Michiru shook her head, "No, but I don't want to be a magician…"

"What do you want to be then?" Haruka asked, raising his brows at her.

"I just want to be like everyone else…" She muttered.

Haruka cocked his head at her, "But I like the way you are now…"

"You like the way I am?" Michiru repeated, her eyes widening with shock.

He nodded simply.

"But that will make you weird too!"

He smiled, "That will make us the same then…"

Michiru was quiet, digesting what he had just said, and before she knew it, she was already encircled into Haruka's arms. He held her there, and she could feel her cheeks burning crazily as he breathed into her ears, "This way, I can be together with you, and you'll never be alone."

Those were the last few words that she heard before her dream ended and Michiru awoke to find herself still being held by the familiar pair of arms. She smiled, recognizing who he was, and slid her hands behind him to hug him back.

--

* * *

--

Outside the guest's room, a pair of eyes watched the couple embracing on the bed. After carefully thinking that she should leave them alone, Minako shut the door as quietly as possible. She turned around and her jaw dropped when she found Yaten standing right behind her.

At that moment, the only emotion that Yaten could read from her face was shock, and as usual, she didn't look very happy to see him. Minako averted his eyes and muttered something he could barely hear as she quickly turned to leave. Yaten nearly pounced on her when she did. He grabbed her by the shoulder, halting her exit.

Minako stopped in the middle of her step, unable to move at all. She didn't say anything as he turned her around. She kept her eyes downcast as he peered at her. He was sure she would have bolted if his hand wasn't restraining her.

"How long do you plan to keep avoiding me, Minako? Why won't you just talk to me?"

Minako glanced up to look at him, and as soon as she did, images of Yaten and Luna quickly filled her head. Some she had seen herself, while others were of her own creation, scenes of them kissing and intimating. But at that moment, she couldn't tell which was false or which was true anymore. She shook her head, wanting those images to go away, and he just stared quietly back at her, wondering why she was looking so upset.

He just wanted to make all her worries go away, but he couldn't figure out how. All he seemed to be doing was giving her more troubles. He reacted by releasing her, hoping that it would ease her for a bit since she didn't look very comfortable with him around.

"I'm sorry… I still need to learn how to really be in a relationship. You are my first and only love. So, I don't have any experience in this area. I don't know what I should do or say to make you happy… it's only reasonable that you won't want to talk to me…" He murmured.

Immediately, Minako's face shot up to his, taken aback from what he had just told her. His face, she noticed, held so much concern and now she felt bad for upsetting him so much. She reacted by tossing her arms around him and locking them around his neck. For a moment, Yaten just stood there wordlessly. He hadn't expected her to hug him out of her own accord, and was stunned silent.

"Is it true? Am I really your first and only love?" Minako whispered.

Yaten blinked, surprised by her question. He glanced at his girlfriend who was still clinching tightly onto him and stroke her hair reassuringly before replying, "Of course you are… I only have you in my heart, you know that…"

Minako was quiet for a second. His reply had given her enough courage to ask him what she had always wanted to. "What about Luna-sama?"

"Luna?" Yaten asked, not getting her question.

"D-Do you love her too?" Minako continued in a shaky voice.

As soon as he heard her question, his forehead creased with confusion. He instantly pulled back, unable to let her continue to have such misconception, as he placed his hands over her cheeks. "You are being silly, Minako. I only love you. There's no way I can have such feeling for her or any other girls…"

"B-but, she's the Empress… and you're one of the Emperors…" Minako muttered, not quite sure how she should continue with her statement.

"Wa-wait… You're avoiding me all this time because you thought that I'm one of the Yonkou, and that I have feeling for the Empress?" Yaten asked in a startled tone.

Minako turned quiet as she dropped her head to keep him from reading the response in her eyes as if he couldn't read her body movement. Yaten sighed, partially out of relief, and the rest out of exasperation. He was glad that she wasn't avoiding him because she didn't like him, but at the same time, he was annoyed by her lack of faith in him.

"Minako, how many times must I tell you that I won't fall for any other girls beside you? And it doesn't matter whether I am one of the Emperors or not, my feelings for you won't change. Why won't you just trust me on this?"

Minako flinched, shocked to hear him say that aloud. Her cheeks darkened a bit as she looked back down, breathing slowly for a few second before relaxing a bit, and faced him again. Minako didn't want to delay this. She could see how he was getting hurt by her silence and previous words.

"I've always trusted you, Yaten-sama…" Minako stressed, her eyes softening at his enlarged ones. "…Not just that, I've always idolized you as well… You are amazing, really… which is why they recognized you as the reincarnation of the Emperor of Necromancy. So for someone as amazing as you to like a Succubus like me is really unbelievable. And when I came to realize that it's real, I became afraid of losing you. I don't want that… Whether it's Luna-sama or any other girls, I don't want to lose ou to anyone! I'm that selfish! Yet I didn't want you to think that I'm just another one of your obsessive fan which you've always hated, so I pretended and acted as if I didn't really love you. But, I do love you, Yaten-sama! I do love you a lot!"

Minako finished and shut her eyes, trying to prepare herself for whatever he had to say. She took a deep breath and tried to look up at him, but she could only manage to stare at his shoulder. Minako couldn't make herself make eye contact with him. She couldn't, not when she didn't know whether he was going to break up with her or not after learning about her true nature and that she was only pretending to be good and innocent for all these years.

"I'm totally defeated by you, Minako…" Yaten laughed softly.

Minako stared at him, not believing his act of happiness, as if he wasn't upset by what she had just told him. She flinched when he moved forward to kiss her on the forehead before wrapping his arms around her. Minako froze in his arms, taken aback by his sudden action, but Yaten simply continued to hold her tightly, his face against her hair.

He smiled, but she couldn't see. Here in his arms was the girl he fell in love with, the silly one who used to keep smiling and chasing after him. It didn't matter where he turned or went, she'd always be here, and no matter how many times he had ignored or threw his tantrum at her, she'd still look so happy whenever she saw him. But little to his knowledge, Minako was having a lot of trouble keeping up with him. His relationship with her alone was enough of a grievance for her to stop smiling and acting like herself altogether. At least, he had understood that much to feel relief that she still loved him despite all the torture and hardship that she had to go through with him.

"Yo-You are not mad at me?" Minako asked anxiously.

"Don't be silly… why should I be angry at you when you've suffered so much for me? You got yourself hurt, captured, locked up and almost killed. I should actually thank you for willing to love me back after going through all these because of me…" Yaten whispered.

"Y-Yaten…" she stuttered, not sure of what to make of this.

She had no idea how happy he felt after hearing from her that she loved him. It gave him more confident to stay in this relationship with her after all those rumors saying that he, as the Emperor of Necromancy, would eventually get back together with Luna. Though he didn't believe that he was his reincarnation, he was still bothered by it mainly because of Minako.

He didn't want to put her into any danger yet he couldn't possibly let her go if that was true. He smiled a little when he felt Minako locking her arms around his waist as she hugged him back, quietly letting him know that she felt the same.

--

* * *

--

Seiya regained conscious in the middle of the night, and once again, he found himself surrounded by darkness. For a moment there, he wished that he was still asleep. At least, he could be with Usagi in his dreams. As soon as the thought of Usagi flashed past his mind, Seiya tried forcing himself up but his body wasn't listening to his command to move. A groan escaped his lips. He had to find Usagi. Who knew what kinds of thing were being done to her.

Ignoring the pain that was acting on his body, Seiya forced himself to sit up, freezing at that spot when he heard gentle footsteps coming his way. Strange, he didn't remember hearing anyone come in. The darkness before him kept Seiya from seeing the face of the intruder, but that familiarly sweet scent that she was carrying had been burned into his memory long enough for him to recognize who she was.

"Usagi… Usagi? Is it you?" Seiya called out.

To his dismay, he heard her backing away from him as soon as he turned to face the direction where he believed she was standing in.

"Wait! Don't go! Usagi!"

He practically flung himself out of the bed, disregarding the condition of his physically powerless body. His legs, as frail as his upper body was, couldn't support him to catch up with her, forcing him to fall onto the cold ground. He heard a soft gasp escaped from her lips as he collapsed. She took a step towards him but for some reason, she hesitated to get any closer to help him up.

"Usagi…"

He breathed her name once more and began to panic when he felt her moving further away from him.

"Usagi! Wait!"

Seiya yelled as he struggled to get back up with no success. His breathing sped up with frustration and anxiety as he lifted his head up to face her helplessly. He extended his hand out towards her, and he could have sworn that he heard her whispered an apology, but it had suddenly turned too quiet for him to differentiate it from his imagination and reality.

Seiya bit his lips until he could taste blood and called out to her once more, begging her not to go. But there was no reply. She was gone. The door of his room swept open a minute later as Minako switched on the lights, startled to find Seiya on the ground. She, along with Haruka and Yaten, immediately rushed over to help him up.

"I have to go after her…" Seiya breathed, ignoring his friends as they tried to calm him down.

"Her?" They asked together.

"Usagi… she was here…" He stated, making his friends widened his eyes in surprise.

Yaten shook his head at him, "She couldn't have been. We would have known if she did."

"She was here a minute ago! She really was! Why didn't anyone stop her?! Why…? Why did she have to go? Why couldn't I stop her from leaving…?"

Frustrated by himself, Seiya turned quiet, dropping his head to face the ground in shame. In the meantime, Taiki stood outside the room with Ami standing next to him, watching as his three friends gradually joined Seiya into a deep silence.

"You are not going in to see him?" Ami asked.

"Before that, there's someone I need to talk." Taiki replied as he turned to head for the stairs.

Ami smiled faintly, "I understand. I'll be waiting for you here then."

"Thank you. It won't take long." He smiled warmly back at her before disappearing down the stairs.

Once at the bottom, Taiki went ahead for the front door and opened it without hesitation. He took a few steps out into the open and glanced around in the attempt to find that person even though there was clearly no one in sight.

"I know you haven't left yet. Won't you come out to see me?"

A minute went by without a single sound and movement before his eyes caught sight of a dark female figure leaning against the huge Sakura tree, a short distance before him. The darkness of the corner she was standing in kept her face a secret, but Taiki knew perfectly well who she was.

"Yuumei-san…"

Stepping out from the shade, Yuumei walked up to Taiki, smiling brightly.

"I know you'd come on Usagi's behalf. How is she? Is she alright?" Taiki asked impatiently.

"Hmmm… How should I put this?" Yuumei pondered, thinking hard before she continued casually. "Like how our father had planned it to be, the shock was too much for her and she has lost herself as Usagi. She won't be able to recognize anyone of you anymore, and as Akatsuki, she won't care what she's doing or who she kills. So, on behalf of the Usagi you knew, I've come to advice the Aces to stay away from Akatsuki and Satan…"

Taiki shook his head sadly, "I'm sorry. Even if that was her final wish, I won't be able to grant it for her."

"Eh?! Why not? I thought you like her." Yuumei frowned and cocked her head innocently at him.

He grinned at her remark, "Yes, I do, yet when she was around, I have never once told her how much I love her. And, now that she's gone, I realize that there are so many things I want to say to her, to tell her. I'll never have the chance to do that if I'm to give up on her now. Besides, I've confident in Usagi. She isn't someone who would make empty promises…"

"Promises eh?" Yuumei muttered, smiling faintly to herself. "I wonder if we are able to fulfill ours…"

"But if there's Akatsuki, won't Yuumei always be there?" Taiki smiled.

Yuumei threw Taiki a surprise look, not expecting him to state her promise with Usagi out loud. But her wide eyes quickly shifted over from shock to disappointment, "You are right. When there's Akatsuki, there will always be Yuumei. And if Akatsuki dies, Yuumei will disappear as well…"

"No, no one needs to die or disappear. Not you, not Usagi…" Taiki stated stubbornly.

Yuumei smiled faintly at his remark, "I'm sure you have heard about the legendary doll-maker, Nori Mai, who was said to be able to create dolls that looked like a real human being. She was the only one in Satan, no probably the whole world, to have the ability to do something so amazing. But, she isn't god. No matter how human-like they all appeared to be like, a doll is still a doll. It won't move or have a life. So, with the support from Satan, she did something unforgivable twenty years ago. They kidnapped children, using them as experiment or test subjects to try and transfer their souls over to the doll bodies. And, of course, there were many failures…"

"Yuumei… You-…" Taiki stuttered, predicting what she was about to say next.

She nodded with a calm smile, "Yes, I'm one of the experimental failures… Or should I say the duplicate of their first successful doll, a perfect psychic weapon, which they later named Akatsuki…"

Taiki stood there as he let the news sunk in. Even though he had somehow knew the story behind Usagi's dark past, to hear it coming from her other half, made everything sounded even more unacceptable than it already was. He clenched his jaw together to keep himself from letting his expression of frustration and disgust showed. He didn't want Yuumei to notice his discomfort and stop here. He needed as much information as he could get to help Usagi.

"Our family…" Taiki muttered reluctantly. "…was the one who killed your _'Mother'_, wasn't it?"

Yuumei smiled calmly at him, "It's true that the Kou family did become famous and well-respected because of that. But you don't have to feel bad about it. After all, whatever Mother did was against the governmental law. Even if your family hadn't accepted the mission, the world government would have sent some other groups down to kill Mother."

"But that still doesn't change the fact that it was our family who shortened Usagi's lifespan. She won't be able to live past 20, and that's all because the only one who could prolong her life was murdered by our family!" Taiki stated aloud as he threw his fist against the door, finally losing his cool.

The loud bang which he created had been heard throughout the house, catching the attention of his friends from a bedroom two floor above him. They blinked and exchanged curious gaze with one another before turning to face the door only to find Ami standing by the entrance. She shook her head at them, silently telling them not to interfere with whatever Taiki was doing.

Seiya, on the other hand, remained extremely quiet, taking no concern over what was going around him anymore. All this while, he had only been thinking of one thing, and that was to save Usagi. But given the frail condition that he was in, there was nothing he could do on his own, not even a simple task like getting out of bed. It was his first time feeling this worthless, yet the thought of giving up had never once crossed his mind.

He clutched his hands together, determined to become stronger than before, and he knew exactly how he could achieve that even though it would have to cost him his life.

--

* * *

--

In one corner of a dark, unknown alley, a middle-aged man was seen running desperately, his eyes darting around from side to side looking as if there was a monster chasing after him. He had been running for a least a day now, not even stopping for a rest as he knew that he would be killed the moment he did. Lucky for him, his ability to sprint continuously without stopping had helped him to escape from getting killed by the Great Powers. But his other comrades weren't that lucky. After learning that Satan's top leading spy, Ami Mizuno, was actually one of the Government's Archangels, the leader of Satan had ordered the Great Powers to investigate and eradicate the rest of the undercover agents who were working for the World Government.

"Found the last one…"

The man flinched when he heard a soft, female voice coming from the direction he was facing. He hadn't notice that he had ran into a dead end. There was a tall wall blocking his path, and seated high above it was what looked like a silhouette of a girl hugging onto a soft toy bunny which appeared to have a pair of dim red eyes that glowed in the dark. Though the darkness of the corner had kept her face a secret, the man could somehow tell that she was smiling down at him.

"Usagi-chan has found the last one…" She giggled while patting her toy rabbit on the head.

Her eerie laughter had forced the man to take a few steps back, and just when he was about to turn, two young men suddenly appeared behind him as they individually placed their hands on his shoulders, refraining him from going anywhere.

"Our last prey sure can run." The brother on the right whistled.

"But this is the furthest you can go." The other one on his left added.

The man swallowed nervously upon realizing that the Demon brothers of the Great Powers, Viper and Verge, were the ones standing behind him. Instantly, he froze on the spot, his wide eyes trailed a luminous, red butterfly as it flew past him and landed on the tip of his nose. As more crimson butterflies began to surround him, their creator, Len walked out from behind him, followed by a shorter boy, called Kidd, and a little girl holding onto a violin case and an umbrella.

Overjoyed to see their idol seated on top of the wall, both Len and Hotaru disregarded their target and hurried over to her side excitedly, eager to be reunited with her. Kidd sighed at their childish behaviour, deciding that it was best to ignore them as he turned to face their target, only to find him pleading anxiously for his life.

"I-I will tell you everything I know! Pl-please don't kill me!"

Kidd shrugged, "Why do they all say the same thing when they're about to die?"

The man let out a low groan of pain when an orange-haired boy appeared out of nowhere and punched him in the gut, and would have collapsed from the attack if it wasn't for Viper and Verge who were holding him back by the shoulders.

"Shut up, weakling! You make us chase after you for a whole damn day and you expect us to spare you?! Go rot in hell!" Kyo snapped as he continued to use the man as a punching bag to let out his frustration.

"What should we do with him, boss?" Kidd asked, smiling up at their leader, Zero, who had mysteriously appeared at the top of the same wall where the girl was seated on.

Stopping right next to her, Zero glanced down at the man who was still suffering from Kyo's punches, obviously uninterested in him. Still, he didn't think it was worthwhile to just kill him after spending a day to hunt him down. At least, he had to get something out of him to compensate for the time he had wasted looking for him.

"Let him talk." Zero instructed in a solemn sounding voice.

Kyo let out a breath of frustration before he reluctantly moved aside, leaving the poor man to cough in pain. With much effort, the man looked up after catching his breath, his eyes widening at the couple above him. The full moon that was situated behind them had provided enough light to brighten up the dark alley that they were in. He could clearly see their faces now. Zero Von Mammon, the leader of the Great Powers, and Usagi Tsukino from the Aces, why were they together? Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind of all the possible reasons and focused on trying to get out alive.

"I'll tell you everything that you want to know. I beg you to let me go."

"We will let you run again…" Verge began.

"…If you can tell us how we can get our hands on the Archangels." Viper finished.

"Especially Ami Mizuno and Kunizite, our two best spies, who stole a very crucial part of our database and sold it to the World Government… They have given us quite a big headache yet none of your useless friends could provide us with any valuable information about them. I'm hoping you can because I don't wish to see you die like the way they did." Kidd added, smiling sarcastically.

The man swallowed nervously at his remarks as he struggled to speak, "I-I know where Ami Mizuno is… Sh-She isn't part of the Archangels anymore…"

"She isn't?" Viper and Verge exclaimed together.

"So, where is she now?" Kidd asked almost immediately.

"Wi-with the Aces…"

His reply caused everyone including Zero to turn and look at Usagi as though they were expecting a big reaction from her. But Usagi remained quiet as she continued patting her soft toy rabbit on its head, looking unconcerned by his words.

"I see. That explains why the world government would actually allow her to leave. After all, with the Counsel of Kings drawing near, no one would want to offend the Emperor of Necromancy. We were advised by Luna-sama to avoid making enemies with the Aces as well." Len commented while looking at the red butterfly which had just landed on his fingertip.

"This is getting so darn troublesome! How are we going to get our hands on Ami Mizuno if we can't touch the Aces then?!" Kyo snapped.

Kidd shrugged, "We'll just have to wait for Luna-sama to get Yaten Kou over to our side before we can make the next move. With the Emperor gone, dealing with the Aces shouldn't be a problem."

"True, since Seiya Kou is now physically handicapped, the Aces would be too easy for us." Kyo commented thoughtlessly.

"A-hem!"

Len, Kidd, Viper and Verge coughed together and glowered at Kyo, silently reminding him that he shouldn't mention the name, Seiya Kou, in front of Usagi. Kyo replied with a scowl before he turned around to face Usagi, deciding to apologize to her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to criticise the Aces or Seiya Kou." He stated awkwardly.

She smiled at his apology before replying, "Seiya who?"

There was a brief moment of silence as the rest of the Great Powers eyed quietly at one another, unsure of how they should answer her. Awkwardness lingered in the air. None of them said anything for a minute till Zero decided to break the silence, turning everyone's attention back to their original target.

"The Lost Index of Great Wisdom, do you know anything about it?" He asked in a mono-tone.

"W-We have no clue where it is or whether it even existed… T-the government is still looking for it…" The man replied timidly.

"This means you are of no use to us now." Zero muttered before gesturing Viper and Verge to release him.

The brothers nodded together as they gladly lifted their hands off his shoulders. And, as soon as they did, the man desperately ran and disappeared into the distance. After he was out of sight for a whole five minutes, Usagi turned to face Zero with a big smile.

"Will we get to see more fireworks today?" She asked excitedly.

Zero nodded slowly, a small smile that was barely noticeable crossed his face for a split second as he replied in a murmur, "He should have climbed high enough now…"

He snapped his fingers as soon as he finished his sentence, and bizarrely enough, something or rather someone was seen shooting up into the sky like a skyrocket before his body exploded, decorating the night sky and ending the scene with a variety of colored fireworks.

--

* * *

--

A/N: I hope you've enjoyed this chapter even though I didn't really like it myself. I'll be expecting the reviews to hit 500, at least, before I start working on the next chapter. This story is coming to a close, with around 5 to 6 chapters, left :). Please do leave a review if you like to read more, because I'll only take some time out of my tight schedule to update it when there are requests. Sadly, I'm getting very busy lately, a bit too busy, and won't be able to update for quite some time. So, do remind me to and thank you all for reading :).

Also, our site has been updated!!


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